Metal Gear Ryu
by ShadowAI
Summary: Harry Potter & Metal Gear Crossover. When faced with the threat of Voldemort, the British government launches a military project to deal with him. The project, however, is a powerful new Metal Gear, which brings Snake and his team to Hogwarts.
1. Introductions

_**Metal Gear Ryu**_

_Summary: Metal Gear Ryu is a crossover between Harry Potter and Metal Gear Solid set as an alternative to the events of Book 6. The recent actions of Voldemort have spooked the British government into action and they do so by developing a powerful new weapon, a weapon capable of destroying an entire nation. Snake, Raiden, Otacon, and a new character, Ryu, are for various reasons trying to find it before it is launched. Problems arise, however, when the location of the Metal Gear is discovered to be Hogwarts._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Metal Gear Solid, if I did, book 6 wouldn't suck._

_Italicized text means dialogue over nano-communication. This is communication done via nano-machines inside of a person's bloodstream._

_

* * *

**Ch1: Introductions**_

_London, United Kingdom_

_11:56 AM, October 16th 2003_

"_Snake, where is he? He should have been here by now." Raiden's voice came in over the codec._

"_Don't worry about it; he said he'll be here around noon time." Otacon replied._

"_I see him." This time it was Snake. _

It was a perfect day in London. It was cold, wet, gray, and overall typical of London fall weather. It was easy not to stand out amongst the sea of umbrellas and rain cloaks. Traffic was somewhat somber as most people preferred to stay inside. On one side of the busy street was a typical Starbucks with a few people inside. One of them was smoking.

"Sir you can't smoke in here."

"Sorry about that." The man began to get up. A man in glasses next to him spoke up

"Just put it out Pliskin, don't tell me you're going out in the rain just to smoke?"

"Why not? Besides it looks like our friend decided to show up."

The man named Pliskin walked out and blew a puff of smoke into the cold Autumn air.

"I hate smoking."

He turned to face the source of the voice. In front of him was a young kid, about 17-18 years of age. The kid was dressed in jeans, a shirt, and a black overcoat. His hair was all wet from the rain and lay in a mess all over his head.

"What's your name kid?"

"Smith, Adam Smith."

"I take it your parents weren't very creative?"

"I seemed to have inherited that."

After one more puff, Pliskin threw the cigarette on the ground.

"So do you want a cup of coffee? We ordered an extra one on accident, it's a macchiato."

"I hope it's caramel." Smith opened the door and went inside, Pliskin followed suit after taking one last look over the street.

"_Yeah, it's him. He says his name is Adam Smith."_

"_Wait a minute Snake, he's just a kid!" Raiden protested._

"_So what? You learned how to use a gun when you were eight."_

"_He's got you there." Otacon joined in._

"_Ok, ok. I just don't trust this kid." Raiden cut off the communications._

The Starbucks was somewhat crowded but it was also warm. Smith sat down at the table next to Pliskin with two other men. One was wearing a blue sweater and glasses. The other had really long smooth blonde hair and blue eyes and was also wearing a leather jacket. Both Pliskin and the blonde guy had concealed pistols on them. The guy with the glasses extended his hand in a greeting.

"Hi, I'm Jonathan Hamilton. And this is my friend Sean Lincoln. You've met Iroquois Pliskin already." The two briskly shook hands, and Smith took a sip of his coffee.

"Ok, how about we switch over to nano-communication to keep our conversation private?"

_Snake's voice came in first. "So what's your name kid?"_

"_It's Ryu. Or at least that's what you can call me" The newcomer replied._

"_You don't look very Japanese. Where are you from?" Otacon asked._

"_Russia, actually Ukraine it's right next to Russia. My father was Ukranian, my mother was from Moscow. I was born in Kiev and then I lived in St. Petersburg. That is until I joined the spetznaz."_

_**Snake:** The spetznaz? I didn't know they recruited kids, I guess Russia must be desperate. So what's your real name?_

_**Ryu:** What's yours?_

_**Snake:** Point taken. Anyway, from now on we all use our codenames. I'm Snake._

_**Ryu:** The legend of Shadow Moses, of course._

_**Snake:** Err, right. The computer whiz over there is Otacon. The blonde guy next to him would be Raiden._

_**Ryu:** Nice to meet everyone. Now that the introductions are over, let's get to work._

_**Otacon:** Ok, let's start with the basics. I assume you know what a Metal Gear is?_

_**Ryu:** A walking tank with unlimited nuclear strike capabilities. It was originally developed by a rogue nation called Outer Heaven. A prototype for the U.S. was being constructed in Alaska at Shadow Moses when the facility was seized by terrorists. A special ops agent, codenamed Snake, infiltrated the facility and destroyed the prototype; however the blueprints were sold on the black market. Now every ideological faction can build their own metal gear._

_**Otacon:** Exactly. In other words a nuclear proliferation nightmare. So recently, developed nations began to research metal gear killers in order to gain the first strike capability. I'm sure you're aware of the Discovery incident from three years ago?_

_**Ryu:** Yeah, tanker with a prototype Metal Gear on it was sunk. Solid Snake was blamed for it. However the events last year at Big Shell had placed his involvement into question._

_**Snake:** Sounds like you did your homework. Well America decided that two metal gear spectacles was enough publicity and kept its R&D under wrap for now. However, two months ago Otacon got a lead regarding a new Metal Gear being developed in Yugoslavia. This new Metal Gear is capable of flight. Of course, flight doesn't just mean it can get off the ground. It has unparalleled air superiority with the ability to stay airborne for at least a week. Its defenses and conventional arsenal allow it to maintain air and ground superiority over a small army._

_**Raiden:** According to its specs, this metal gear is designed to fight other metal gears. It has an incredibly wide range of movement and its motions are much faster than those of America's Metal Gear Ray. Taking into account the aerial superiority of this new design, we're dealing with a weapon capable of flying into a country, wiping out its defenses and completely annihilating the entire population._

_**Ryu: **So what exactly happened in Yugoslavia?_

_**Raiden:** Snake and I infiltrated the facility to discover that the prototype was still in construction. We estimate that the Metal Gear was 20 completed. Even at 20, however, it was capable of shooting down Stinger missiles and reaching Mach 3 with afterburners._

_**Snake:** Needless to say it managed to get away. The thing is, we had no idea where it went. All traces of the new Metal Gear were gone._

_**Otacon:** Our original assumption was that Russia was involved in the development of this new variation and that it was using Yugoslavia as a proxy. However after a careful search of all the countries of the former Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact we found no trace of the New Metal Gear. We traced the money back to the Russian government, however, and we found it linked to the Dragonic Ethics Corporation. You were tied with the funds which were used to develop the Metal Gear._

_**Ryu: **And I was also the only human being you could possibly track down, right?_

_**Otacon:** Exactly, we found out you were in Britain and followed you in order to try to get some answers._

_**Ryu:** All right, you are correct in the knowledge that my unit was tied in with the development of the Metal Gear; however I was not aware of its existence until after my unit was, 'disbanded'. Just like you I was searching for the Metal Gear but I was doing so in order to locate my comrades. I managed to track it to Britain._

_**Snake:** How'd you do that?_

_**Ryu**:Same way you did, I followed the money trail. After the Yugoslavian fiasco that you mentioned, it would cost someone a whole lot of money to transport the Metal Gear and cover their tracks._

_**Snake: **Right, and?_

_**Ryu:** Well, have you heard about the recent developments in Britain?_

_**Otacon:** From what I read, recently there has been a plethora of unexplained phenomena that began this summer I believe. People are turning up missing or dead. Odd weather patterns which meteorologists can't explain. And the collapse of a bridge with no definite cause. _

_**Ryu:** Exactly. The Prime Minister of Britain passed a proposal through parliament to increase the defense budget in order to "Ascertain the nature of these events, and to further strengthen Britain both internally and externally."_

_**Snake:** Sounds like a political gesture to me. How much of that was actually spent on security?_

_**Ryu:** Well most of the transaction seemed legit; however a large chunk of the expenditures was directed towards a "Project Pegasus."_

_**Otacon: **Project Pegasus? That name sounds familiar._

_**Ryu: **It should, Dragonic Ethics is on the payroll, along with several other companies. It should be mentioned in their accounts. Anyway, the money spent was used for large transportation costs, development of high-density metallic alloys, thermal weaponry, basically all the ingredients for a Metal Gear. That's all that I managed to find out before you guys contacted me._

_**Snake: **Not bad kid, thanks for the info._

_**Otacon:** I guess then we're going to look into this Project Pegasus. We'll contact you if anything comes up._

"_Right, I'll dig around some more and maybe I can get some info which might be more concrete with regard to the Metal Gear." Ryu ended the transmission._

Ryu drank the remained of his coffee and tossed the cup. The remaining three men all got up as well and began to put on their various coats.

"It was a pleasure meeting you kid." Snake spoke and extended his hand to Ryu.

"The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Pliskin" Ryu shook his hand put on his coat. "Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Lincoln I had a marvelous time." Ryu shook hands with both Raiden and Otacon and the four of them finally began to leave. The bell rang and the sound of rain replaced the sound of the chatter inside the coffee shop. The four men walked out and parted their ways.

"I'll keep in touch Kid" Snake said to Ryu before lighting another cigarette.

-End Ch1-

_Author's Notes:_

-Although the storyline of Harry Potter takes place at the end of the 20th century and the story of Metal Gear Solid 2 takes placed in 2009. I compromised and set the date at 2003. This story takes place on year after Big Shell and during Harry's 6th year at Hogwarts.

-Ryu's real name isn't Adam Smith those were all aliases

-The whole Macchiato thing was a password to make sure it was in fact Ryu and not some imposter.


	2. Recon

_**Metal Gear Ryu**_

_Summary: Metal Gear Ryu is a crossover between Harry Potter and Metal Gear Solid set as an alternative to the events of Book 6. The recent actions of Voldemort have spooked the British government into action and they do so by developing a powerful new weapon, a weapon capable of destroying an entire nation. Snake, Raiden, Otacon, and a new character, Ryu, are for various reasons trying to find it before it is launched. Problems arise, however, when the location of the Metal Gear is discovered to be Hogwarts._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Metal Gear Solid, if I did, book 6 wouldn't suck._

_Italicized text means dialogue over nano-communication. This is communication done via nano-machines inside of a person's bloodstream._

_

* * *

_

**_Ch2: Recon_**

_50 miles north of London, United Kingdom_

_7:03 AM, October 23rd 2003_

Getting up at 5 AM in the morning wasn't exactly Ryu's idea of fun. However he was anxious to find out more about the Metal Gear and Snake had finally contacted him, albeit quite early. The conversation was brief of course, Otacon merely told Ryu that they were going for a drive and asked if he wanted to come along. Ryu packed his gear in his duffel bag and when Snake's car drove around he put his equipment in the trunk and got inside.

They had already been driving for almost two hours and both Raiden and Otacon were sleeping. Snake seemed tired as well and Ryu chose not to distract him from driving. They were on a road in the rural area past London. On either side of them were long stretches of grass with the occasional building and animal breaking up the monotony. The sky was overcast and made the morning seem more like evening.

Otacon yawned and finally woke up from his nap. After stretching a bit and rubbing his eyes he took his glasses out of his pocket and put them on.

"Did you have a nice nap?" Ryu asked.

"Yes actually, we haven't slept for the past three days really." Otacon answered groggily.

"Why not?" Said Ryu as Otacon opened his laptop and turned it on. The laptop began to hum.

"Hey Snake, how about getting some breakfast?" Otacon asked ignoring Ryu's question.

Snake merely grunted and turned at the next exit with a gas station and some fast food.

Otacon turned to his laptop and began to perform, what Ryu thought, was his routine. After he seemed satisfied he sighed and began talking. "We were tracking Project Pegasus for the past few days. And so far we had come up with a lot of blanks. However there were a few leads for us." With a handful of clicks of his mouse he opened a window which displayed several company logos with various statistics regarding them. "Most of the companies on the payroll seem to be fairly straightforward, however one company was bothering me. When I began to look into it I couldn't even discern its full name, only the logo 'MM'."

Ryu looked confused; "MM?" he looked over the crimson letters along with the accompanying data. The company was founded virtually yesterday, with no data regarding the employees, spokespeople, or specialization.

Otacon continued, "Major Mystery is more like it, as you can see we have no data on that company which was why we started to look into the blanks. Although we didn't get many answers, we did find something concrete yesterday."

Ryu looked up at Otacon, "Which is?"

With a few clicks Otacon closed the window and brought up another one with a GPS map along with a route pointing to a destination in Scotland. "A set of GPS coordinates towards that location. We found satellite photos of the area. It's an unspoiled reserve that humans very seldom visit. It's large and not mapped anywhere. It is a perfect hiding spot for something as large as a Metal Gear." Otacon sighed and looked at Ryu, "We also found what we think is the codename for the site, Hogwarts. Mean anything to you?"

Ryu looked puzzled, "Hogwarts? It's not ringing any bells."

"I tried finding any instance of that word that could be meaningful; however I drew another blank there." Both sighed. Otacon went back to his computer and Ryu looked out the window

The overcast sky was becoming a bit lighter and the scenery became more rugged. In a few more hours they would be entering Scotland.

_300 miles Northwest of London, 'Hogwarts', Scotland_

_3:03 PM, October 23rd 2003_

The coordinates led to a secluded location in the Scotland wilderness. The landscape was virtually untouched by human hands; however this proved to be a hindrance as the dirt road ended several miles away from the location. After arriving at the location, the team grabbed their gear and walked for several minutes before arriving in front of a large lake next to a huge forest.

"Do you think it could be in the lake?" Raiden asked while setting up his surveillance equipment.

"Probably not. I don't think Britain has any intention of repeating America's fiasco with Big Shell." answered Snake. "It's likely being built somewhere on land, or most likely even underground."

"But you saw the photos Snake, other than that railroad there's nothing here, no roads, and no facilities. How else could they hide a metal gear so well?" responded Raiden.

"Maybe we just got the wrong location." offered Snake. "It's possible that this is merely to mislead people or it's just a testing site, with the actual location being elsewhere."

"What about the Castle? It looks big enough to store the Metal Gear and all the necessary materials." asked Ryu.

"Which Castle? There's not a single castle for miles, you saw the satellite images." replied Otacon.

"Are you sure you're not hallucinating?" asked Raiden with a smirk.

Mumbling something under his breath, Ryu reached into his duffel bag and pulled out a set of thermal goggles. After looking through them for a while, he offered the goggles to Raiden. "See for yourself."

"What is that? Are you sure these goggles are working?" said Raiden in disbelief.

"Positive." Ryu said, already irritated.

The thermal goggles were passed around a few more times with the same result for everyone. Despite the fact that there was no visible evidence of human presence, the thermal goggles revealed a giant heat signature which could not be naturally caused by anything short of a massive fire.

"It's possible they're using some sort of light bending material to hide the castle. Kind of like a stealth field of sorts. However this doesn't explain how Ryu can see it." said Otacon.

"It's not that important." said Ryu "Since I'm the only who can see that, I guess I'll go in and do some recon. Check out the security, maybe find out if there's any way to disable that energy field or something."

"Are you sure you can handle it yourself?" asked Raiden, "After all, Big Shell took the efforts of me Snake and at least four other people and we barely made it out alive."

"It's not like I'm going in to destroy Metal Gear, just recon." replied Ryu.

"And besides, he can call us up for any additional advice." said Otacon. "I can handle any tech stuff, and Snake can give some combat tips I guess."

"And what about me?" asked Raiden.

"You can save his progress." replied Otacon.

"What? Do you think this is some sort of a game?" Raiden burst out.

"I meant the info he sends us as he progresses into the castle. You can save it in the laptop." Otacon said, with a mild smirk.

Raiden shot him a look, when he heard a click. Everyone turned around and saw Ryu attach a silencer to his pistol.

"Heckler and Koch USP?" asked Snake. "You might want to use this instead." Snake took out another pistol with a silencer attached already. "It's a modified Beretta M9 made to fire tranquilizer rounds. Use it to avoid killing guards and leaving blood trails for the enemy."

"Got it." grunted Ryu and holstered the second pistol.

"Also use this." said Otacon and took a digital camera from his bag and handed it to Ryu. "The pictures will be directly transmitted to my laptop so we can get a better understanding of the facility." Without a word Ryu took the camera and placed it in a pocket on his body armor.

"Ever use one of these?" Ryu turned around to find Raiden holding a sheathed katana.

"On occasion." Ryu responded.

"Consider this a personal gift; just don't go slicing people up too much." Raiden finished with a smirk.

After placing the sword on his back, Ryu grabbed the remaining pieces of equipment from his bag, which included several grenades, some throwing knives, and his personal combat knife. After checking all of his equipment he looked at the trio and nodded.

"We'll be in touch over nano-communications if you need us." Said Snake.

Without uttering another word Ryu set off towards the castle in a light jog. The sky was still overcast and he used the nearby forest to somewhat cover his movements. There was a seemingly abandoned hut ahead from which Ryu planned to scout out the castle before actually going inside.

In the distance stood the castle where he would not only find Metal Gear, but the answers he was looking for. The wind began to pick up and the gusts blew leaves in front of Ryu's path. Quickening his pace, Ryu began his infiltration.

-End Ch2-

Author's Notes:

-Ok this should have been done a while ago I'll try to do the third chapter a bit faster.

-The reason why Ryu can see the castle will be revealed later. But rest assured there is a good reason why

-Same goes for MM


	3. Infiltration

_**Metal Gear Ryu**_

_Summary: Metal Gear Ryu is a crossover between Harry Potter and Metal Gear Solid set as an alternative to the events of Book 6. The recent actions of Voldemort have spooked the British government into action and they do so by developing a powerful new weapon, a weapon capable of destroying an entire nation. Snake, Raiden, Otacon, and a new character, Ryu, are for various reasons trying to find it before it is launched. Problems arise, however, when the location of the Metal Gear is discovered to be Hogwarts._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Metal Gear Solid, if I did, book 6 wouldn't suck._

_Italicized text means dialogue over nano-communication. This is communication done via nano-machines inside of a person's bloodstream._

* * *

**_Ch3: Infiltration_**

_300 miles Northwest of London, 'Hogwarts', Scotland_

_3:25 PM, October 23rd 2003_

The forest to his right became darker and seemed far more mysterious. Going through it seemed less of an option now. Too many ambush spots. In front of Ryu stood his first real obstacle; a large wall with a huge main gate that he figured served as the entrance. Both the gate and the nearby wall seemed as old as the castle with little security. There was no sign of any cameras or sensors; likewise there were no visible guards. However, there was also no sign of an entry method.

Two options, Ryu thought. He could either detonate a hole in the wall or climb over it. The former drawing too much unwanted attention, Ryu began searching for a location where he could climb over the wall. His search was interrupted by the noise of wheels and horseshoe clicks. Ryu instinctively went prone in the tall grass near the wall and inspected the source of the noise.

Ryu saw a black carriage coming up on the hill; its rider was wearing a dark cloak covering his entire body. The carriage was covered revealing nothing of the cargo inside. Ryu began observing as with a bunch of creaking noises the gates slowly began to open. Seeing an opportunity, Ryu tensed his muscles and waited for the carriage to pass through the gates and for his chance to enter. As soon as the gates started creaking again, Ryu rolled out of the grass onto the road and with a quick sprint dashed past the gates and dived into the tall grass. He was inside. Looking nervously at the surroundings for traces of traps or movement he found nothing. No guards, no cameras, no sensors, and the carriage seemed to have brushed him off. As puzzling as his seemingly simple success was Ryu had to continue. He opened his Codec to talk to Snake and update him.

_**Ryu: **Snake? I'm in._

_**Snake: **We can tell, we can't make out your individual heat signature anymore. So, what do you see?_

_**Ryu:** Well, the entrance was guarded by a gate, however security is virtually non-existent, no guards, cameras, patrols, nothing. I managed to sneak in when the gates opened to let some sort of wagon in; it looked like it was carrying something, possibly metal gear parts._

_**Snake:** Did you manage to look at the cargo?_

_**Ryu:** Sorry, it was covered up._

_**Snake:** All right. So what's the current situation?_

_**Ryu:** The castle isn't too far away, and there is little sign of security, I might be able to reach it in ten minutes, but I have no idea what the internal security is like. There's a small hut nearby, most likely for security, also some sort of a practice range I guess. It looks like some stadium from here._

_**Snake:** Do you have any plans how you're going to get inside?_

_**Ryu:** Hopefully some guard will be stupid and wander off, that way I can steal their uniform and sneak in._

_**Snake:** All right, sounds good. Contact me if anything changes._

With the codec off, Ryu proceeded down the length of the road, making sure to stay out of sight. Ryu weighed his options, the hut seemed abandoned. By its look it was poorly built, surrounded by weeds and a handful of plants. Also it was dangerously near the forest, which instinctively gave Ryu a foreboding feeling. It was definitely more secluded but it would more likely to get him into trouble with hidden security or something. The 'stadium' on the other hand was well built, and the surroundings much better groomed, however it might have more people, possibly easier to spot him. Finally Ryu opted to take the road more traveled in hopes of avoiding an untimely death. He felt confident in his ability to avoid guards, or kill them if necessary, and on top of that, he could escape capture, you can't escape death.

Ryu crossed the road and was on his way towards the stadium when suddenly a giant roar erupted from within. Instinctively Ryu went prone and hid himself in the grass. He heard cheering and booing coming from inside, must be a game, he thought. Must also be where everyone was. Ryu stoop up and began approaching the stadium's outskirts. It was somewhat old, built out of wood. There were various banners of different colors hanging around it. They didn't seem like country flags or any sort of insignias he had ever seen used by paramilitary forces. As he got closer, a huge booming voice came from within.

"He got the snitch! He got the snitch!" the remainder of the announcement was drowned out by the sudden explosion from the crowd. When the roar died down the announcement continued, "Final score, Griffin Door 220 Raven Claw 90!" And once again the crow erupted.

Not particularly sure what to make of griffin doors, raven claws, or snitches (whatever the hell those were anyway) Ryu starting searching for a place to conceal himself in order to avoid, what he suspected, was the crowd of soldiers leaving the building. Just as he found a nice set of tall bushes, people began rapidly exiting the stadium.

_**Ryu:** Snake? Hey, Snake, you there?_

_**Snake**: What is it?_

_**Ryu**: I'm near a stadium inside the compound, from the looks of it there was some kind of game._

_**Snake**: A game? What the…?_

_**Ryu**: Yeah, I'm as lost as you are, anyway I managed to overhear some announcements. Otacon, you there?_

_**Otacon**: Yup._

_**Ryu**: Good check the words Griffin Door, Raven Claw, and Snitch. See if you come up with any sorts of military or paramilitary hits._

_**Otacon**: Ok, but that will take some time, my laptop isn't a supercomputer you know._

_**Raiden**: What are we, brewing some sort of spell?_

_**Ryu**: They could be code names._

_**Raide**n: Are you even sure you heard those right? We need to focus on finding metal gear, not chasing after spell ingredients._

_**Ryu**: Well, unlike you, I'm the one down here and maybe those can help me figure out what soldiers I'm going up against._

_**Otacon**: Okay, okay, calm down. I'll do a passive search that doesn't use up too much of my RAM but it will take a while._

_**Ryu**: Thanks._

_**Snake**: Anything else?_

_**Ryu**: Yeah, there are a lot of people coming out._

_**Snake**: Can you describe them to me?_

Ryu took out his binoculars and looked through them.

_**Ryu**: This doesn't make any sense._

_**Snake**: What do you see?_

_**Ryu**: Kids, a bunch of kids, I'd say ages between 10 to 18. There are at least a few hundred of them._

_**Snake**: Are you sure? Any adults?_

_**Ryu**: A few, but most are old, unlikely to be armed. They could possibly be scientists, but…_

_**Snake**: But?_

_**Ryu**: The kids are all dressed in variations of the same uniform, it looks like a school uniform to be exact. Some are carrying books and, pieces of paper. And none of them even come near the profile of an armed person. Snake, this place feels like some kind of school._

_**Snake**: Hmm, we can't turn back now, this is our only lead. Can you get within the castle?_

_**Ryu**: I'll see if there's any student whose uniform I can, borrow._

Ryu closed the codec and started looking around. Most of the students were in a giant pack but there were bound to be some inside. Silently and swiftly, Ryu rolled out of cover and ran up to the walls of the stadium. He withdrew his tranquilizer pistol and quietly proceeded inside. Partly veiled by the shadow of the entryway into the stadium, Ryu scanned the stands. It's an open stadium, he thought, what I really need to find are the locker rooms. The stadium was huge, on either side stood three very tall rings as well as pennants with the same colors he had seen before. Must be hard to get a field goal here, Ryu mused. Upon closer inspection he found a doorway that lead out of the field.

"Bingo." Ryu mumbled and began to quickly cross the field, his gun lowered to make sure no one notices it. The stands were empty, making his job easier. He walked up to the door and tried the handle, it was unlocked. Gun raised, his index finger receiving blood faster than his brain, Ryu suddenly became very alert. He opened the door as little as possible, just enough for him to slip in unnoticed. Then he crept up behind a locker and crouched to over hear the conversation. There were still three people left, two had already changed and were leaving.

"That was incredible, Harry." Came a soft female voice. "You and your firebolt were ahead of Cho on every step."

"Yeah," chimed in the second, "Raven claw barely stood a chance. Although I wish we did a better job as chasers. We can't leave everything up to you after all."

"That race was a lot closer than you thought." came in the third voice, male. "And you give Cho too little credit, she's an excellent seeker."

The two girls giggled.

"What?" the boy protested.

"Nothing." They said and giggled again. Then the two of them turned around and began to leave. "See you at the dorm Harry."

"Goodbye." He waved. Then the two girls opened the door and left.

Finally, there were no more distractions. The Locker room was silent save for Ryu's own breathing and the clunking noises that kid made while opening his locker. Perfect. Ryu peeked from the side, the kid was ignorant of Ryu's presence. No point in wasting a round Ryu figured.

Ryu's muscles tensed, it has been a while since he had done this, but his muscles quickly remembered everything. In one swift motion, Ryu abandoned his cover and lunged toward Harry. It was a controlled lunge, but it had enough momentum so that when his hand, with the gun in it, connected with the boy's head he jerked uttered a soft groan and fell limp. Ryu caught him before he hit the ground and made much noise. He was a plain looking boy. He had messy black hair, glasses that were in poor shape, and a somewhat skinny build. The most 'interesting' thing Ryu notices was an odd scar on his forehead. However seeing as many scarred people as he had, it didn't seem very impressive. Laying the boy down he proceeded to check the locker's contents. Inside there were more books, what looked like parchment, and a bag full of what Ryu assumed were school supplies. There was also a uniform similar to the ones he had seen, and a large broom.

"I guess you like cleaning." Ryu said to his unconscious companion. He grabbed the uniform and put it on, a little tight but not enough to give him away. He holstered his gun, then grabbed the body and put it into the locker. The boy groaned but didn't wake up.

"Sweet dreams." Ryu closed the locker door and after reading the inscription added, "Mr. Potter."

He walked out, adjusting his posture to fit a school kid and not an agent. Opening up his codec he contacted snake.

_**Ryu**: Snake, this is Ryu. I managed to get a uniform. I'll contact you from inside the castle. Out._

None of this made any sense to him. First the invisible castle, now it turns out to be a school. No sign of any modern technology let alone any construction facilities. There had to be an answer inside. There had to be.

-End Ch 3-

_Author's Notes_:

- I am soo late with this, sighs well I had finals/college apps/work

- That hopefully will be the one and only time you get to see Harry, and the locker thing was my friend's idea.


	4. Mistake

_**Metal Gear Ryu**_

_Summary: Metal Gear Ryu is a crossover between Harry Potter and Metal Gear Solid set as an alternative to the events of Book 6. The recent actions of Voldemort have spooked the British government into action and they do so by developing a powerful new weapon, a weapon capable of destroying an entire nation. Snake, Raiden, Otacon, and a new character, Ryu, are for various reasons trying to find it before it is launched. Problems arise, however, when the location of the Metal Gear is discovered to be Hogwarts._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Metal Gear Solid, if I did, book 6 wouldn't suck._

_Italicized text means dialogue over nano-communication. This is communication done via nano-machines inside of a person's bloodstream._

* * *

**_Ch4: Mistake_**

_300 miles Northwest of London, 'Hogwarts', Scotland_

_4:05 PM, October 23rd 2003_

Ryu entered inside without drawing any attention, thankfully. Infiltration wasn't really his top skill but he somehow evaded detection. There were many students around him all chattering lively discussing the outcome of the game. Several times he heard the name Harry Potter mentioned and he tried to suppress his urge to smirk. Thankfully the crowd of kids was loud, always in motion, and inattentive. He couldn't say the same thing about the adults. Most seemed aloof and harmless enough but Ryu couldn't put his finger on two of them in particular. One was dressed in fancy purple robes and looked to be over one hundred years old, that didn't take away from his presence, however. He seemed somehow omniscient and powerful. Although he didn't do anything out of the ordinary, Ryu was certain that in the old man somehow knew that Ryu was an impostor, even if he wasn't letting on. The other teacher was far more obvious about his suspicions. He was gaunt and pale with greasy black hair. He looked sickly and malnourished. His eyes, however, were filled with some sort of hatred, and he was always looking at Ryu suspiciously.

Ryu continued down the entrance hall and looked around for somewhere more secluded. He opened the codec.

_**Ryu**: Snake I'm in_

Thankfully the din of student voices drowned out his mumblings.

_**Snake**: And?_

_**Ryu**: Nothing, lots of kids here, and a few adults, still no sign of any security. It's possible that the Metal Gear can still be in another part of the castle._

_**Otacon**: Ryu, Otacon here, is your GPS locator enabled?_

_**Ryu**: No, hang on._

Ryu discretely pressed a button on his watch which activated his GPS tracker.

_**Ryu**: It's on_

_**Otacon**: All right, there's a lot of interference but the GPS has picked up your signal, we can now trace your location._

_**Ryu**: That won't do us any good._

_**Otacon**: Actually, it will. One of your leads came up. Raven claw._

_**Ryu**: What about it?_

_**Otacon**: Well according to documents I managed to dig up dating back from the 11th century A.D. Apparently four people named Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Helga Hufflepuff, and Rowena Ravenclaw had commissioned the construction of a large castle in Scottland. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor were some sort of surnames._

_**Ryu**: Are we certain it's this castle?_

_**Otacon**: I'm afraid no. They could have commissioned other castles for all I know, but the descriptions seem to match. According to the architect reports it's bordered by a dark forest and overlooks a large lake._

_**Ryu**: How descriptive._

_**Otacon**: There is one other way to double check the authenticity. I've managed to analyze the handful of sketches and reports to create a rudimentary map of the castle. I'm projecting it now over your GPS signal. Ok, I'm done. In front of you should be a large staircases flanked by two smaller ones._

_**Ryu**: Hey not bad, you got it right._

In front of Ryu was indeed a large marble staircase leading to a set of double doors. To either side were smaller ones descending into darkness.

_**Otacon**: The one on the left should take you down to the castle dungeons. If our guess that the Metal Gear is underground is correct, the dungeons are most likely to have an entrance._

_**Snake**: Be careful._

_**Ryu**: I know._

Codec closed, Ryu proceeded down toward the three staircases. He found it odd that few students were taking the left staircase. He looked around the castle entrance once more. The bearded old man had gone into the room on the right. The pale teacher was nowhere to be found. The students were all too preoccupied to notice him. Ryu walked up casually to the doorway, and entered it as if it was an everyday thing.

With the door shut behind him, Ryu was now in semi-darkness. Both his eyes and ears had to adjust to the sudden shift in the environment. The noise of the students was almost completely shut out by the walls and the only noises he could hear were his own footsteps.

The dungeon was cold and damp. There was a stench hovering in the air, a combination of rotten eggs, gym socks, and god knows what else. Ryu's footsteps were carefully placed to avoid making much sound, he was constantly looking around for any sign of movement, his right hand ready to draw his gun. People who are cautious by nature or by profession seem to have a sixth sense for when they are being watched or followed, and Ryu was starting to get that unnerving feeling.

"Where are you going?" Ryu heard a voice, so someone had followed him after all. Ryu stopped calmly and threw a quick glance in the direction of the voice. It was in fact, the man he had seen earlier, the messy looking guy.

"I don't believe I've seen you around here before, what's your name?" Ryu sighed, well he didn't figure he was going to get caught this soon, but infiltration wasn't his forte.

"Are you deaf? I asked you for your name." Ryu remained silent and still, as long as that idiot didn't yell or call in security there was no need for rushed movements.

The sound of the man's footsteps echoed louder and louder, that idiot was trying to approach him. "Listen to me boy; the dungeons are off limits. When I find out what house you're from be prepared to face the consequences." That condescending tone was beginning to get irritating. "Believe me you won't like them" Just a little closer, Ryu thought.

Ryu shot back one more glance, the man was unarmed; no gun, sword, taser, nothing. He was, however, holding a thin piece of wood in his hand like a conductor's wand. He was close now; close enough for Ryu to act. The motion was already playing out over and over in his head and all he had to do was perform it flawlessly. First Ryu quickly pivoted and used his left arm to grab his opponent's outstretched one and snap it back. He drove his right elbow straight into the man's stomach as a follow up. He heard a soft groan as the man's face contorted with the sudden jolt of pain. Without a pause, Ryu grabbed his collar and slammed him against the nearby wall. The man gasped from the sudden shock and began to slide down. Before he could slide far, however, Ryu side kicked him in his stomach and heard a crack from a few ribs being broken. With the remainder of air escaping his lungs, he couldn't manage to whimper, let alone call for help. He then crumpled at Ryu's feet.

Ryu picked up the stick the man was holding earlier. It was slender, well polished, and had a silver engraving: Severus Snape. It served him no particular reason, Ryu figured, so he tossed it on the ground next to the man.

Suddenly an explosion rippled through the caverns, followed by a whole lot of screaming coming from above. Ryu instinctively took out his pistol and began to jog toward the stairs to find out what was going on.

_**Ryu**: Snake? It's Ryu, something is wrong._

_**Snake**: What is it?_

_**Ryu**: I just heard an explosion upstairs, there's a lot of screaming._

_**Snake:** Any idea why?_

_**Ryu**: I'm trying to find out._

_**Otacon**: Ryu, Otacon, what about the dungeons, any luck with that?_

_**Ryu**: I'm afraid not, I was followed by someone and I had to take care of that. He's unconscious now, no weapons on him though._

There was a short silence.

_**Snake**: I think we should abort._

_**Ryu**: What!? Why would we do that?_

_**Snake**: There's too many things going wrong, the invisibility, the lack of security, and now the explosion. We need more information before we proceed. Use the panic as your cover to get out of there. Snake out._

The Codec was disabled. Nearing the top of the stairs, Ryu leaned against the door to try to hear what was going on. There was still a lot of screaming. Some people were yelling asking others to stay calm. Then he heard a loud roar. Not sure what to make of it, Ryu opened the door a little to find out what was going on. He was stumped when he did.

The scene was something straight out of a movie. There was a huge hole in the wall of the castle with the dust still settling. The kids were running around in panic, particularly the small ones, with some of the adults trying to rein them in. Others were shooting some sort of weird light rays out of sticks similar to the one he just saw. The most surreal part about the scene was the target of the beams: a giant, green-skinned, monster holding a heavy club. He stood around 8 feet tall, and looked like he had the intelligence of a 2-year old but despite that, the beams seemed to have no effect on him at all. Ryu took out his digital camera and opened his codec.

_**Ryu**: Raiden, I've found the cause of the explosion, I'm uploading you the pictures._

_**Raiden**: All right._

Ryu took several snapshots of the monster, the adults, and the explosion in the wall and uploaded them.

_**Raiden**: I got them… What the _hell_ is that?_

_**Ryu**: No idea._

_**Snake**: This just proves my point, we have no idea what we're getting ourselves into._

_**Otacon**: The nearest exit, according to my floor plan, is through those doors, do you think you can figure out a way around it?_

_**Ryu**: I'll figure something out. If I don't contact you in 10 minutes, assume I'm dead or captured. Ryu out._

Searching around in his pouch, Ryu pulled out a flashbang. "This should do the trick." He pulled the pin and tossed it as hard as he could straight into the middle of the room and looked away. There was a curt, bang, followed by a bright flash a loud beeping noise. In a few seconds, Ryu turned around and opened the door. The room was in a mass panic, as it should be, since everyone had most of their senses disabled. Wasting no time, Ryu left his cover and shut the door when he suddenly heard a loud shriek. He turned around quickly and saw that the beast had managed to snatch a girl from the crowd and was now flailing around his club and the girl.

This was his fault. His first instinct was to ask Snake what to do, however a few more shrieks from the girl and the loud crashing sounds of the club changed his mind. It would take too long to come up with a decision. Ryu was stuck with a choice: he could leave now and leave her to die, or he could save her, giving himself up in the process. He didn't have long to think either, the blindness would wear off in a matter of seconds, and then he would be unable to do anything but watch.

The monster let out another roar and crashed down the club even harder, eliciting yet one more scream from the girl. Some people were regaining their sight because he heard them yell Cho very loudly. The adults shot off a few more beams which missed completely.

"I'm going to regret this." Ryu took out his pistol and aimed carefully at the monsters head. He then fired four successive rounds straight into its skull. It roared and swung the club around widely searching for its assailant, but the bullets did nothing more to make it angry.

"This is bad." Ryu was now irritated and scared. Here there was a monster which he would need a sniper rifle to neutralize, and all he had was a few more grenades, his pistols, a knife, and a katana. He couldn't risk shooting the hand, it would potentially hurt the girl, and headshots were ineffective. Ryu holstered his pistol, and continued to look upon helplessly as the poor girl was being crushed to death in that beasts' arm.

Ryu pulled out the katana, and stared at the monster. There was no plan to this, just pure improvisation. Ryu gripped the hilt tightly and began to sprint right up to the monster. The effects of the flashbang still affected it, so it didn't notice Ryu charging it. When he was within a few inches of it, Ryu crouched, and then leaped straight at it. His plan was crazy, but desperate time called for desperate measures, and this was really desperate. Without hesitation, Ryu jammed the katana straight into the creature's belly. It let out a terrible roar, as a thick red good began to flow out of the wound. The roar, deafened Ryu, but he hung on. The second part of his plan had to be timed perfectly; otherwise he would lose his grip and get stomped to death under that thing's feet. He watched as it flailed the arm holding the girl around, and when it got close, he swiftly let one hand go of the katana, and used it to grab his knife and jam it into the wrist. The creature let out another howl of pain and began thrashing even more wildly, but his plan worked. It let go of the girl.

In sync with the girl's fall, Ryu let go of the hilt and maneuvered in mid air just so he could catch her before they hit the ground. The fall was somewhat short but that did little to lessen the pain of the impact, considering he also broke her fall as well. Ryu didn't have time to waste lying around, however, as the creature was still alive, and _very_ angry. Ryu got up and pushed the girl, who was now unconscious aside, and took out his pistol. With little on his mind other than pure survival, he began firing round after round straight into the creature's face in hope of one being able to bore through the skull and kill it.

Round after round hit the monster, but it didn't seem to phase it. Ryu's clip was limited, and soon he heard clicking instead of gunshots. However as Ryu reached into his pouch to pull out a new clip, he didn't see as the creature swung his hand around. It was a lucky swing, since the creature was still blinded, but it had exerted enough force to send Ryu flying several feet.

Ryu wasn't sure what happened, he was reaching for his clip when he suddenly felt being hit by something, very hard. The next thing was the sensation of flight, and the sudden drop. His head began to ring, and muscles began to ache. He could taste metal in his mouth, meaning he was bleeding. He could also feel a warm puddle spreading under his head and back. With the last ounce of strength he turned his head and saw the red pool of blood, his blood. And then everything faded to black

_**Snake**: Ryu! Answer me! Ryu! RYU!!!_

-End Ch 4-

_Author's Notes:_

-It was a troll by the way

-I'm hoping to do one more chapter before I leave for Tahoe. Enjoy the cliffhanger though.

-The Snape thing was my idea.


	5. Interlude: Memory

_**Metal Gear Ryu**_

_Summary: Metal Gear Ryu is a crossover between Harry Potter and Metal Gear Solid set as an alternative to the events of Book 6. The recent actions of Voldemort have spooked the British government into action and they do so by developing a powerful new weapon, a weapon capable of destroying an entire nation. Snake, Raiden, Otacon, and a new character, Ryu, are for various reasons trying to find it before it is launched. Problems arise, however, when the location of the Metal Gear is discovered to be Hogwarts._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Metal Gear Solid, if I did, book 6 wouldn't suck._

_Italicized text means dialogue over nano-communication. This is communication done via nano-machines inside of a person's bloodstream._

* * *

**_Interlude: Memory_**

_Military training camp 'Rassvet', Belarus  
1:03 PM, August 15th, 1994_

It was a humid summer day, no wind, few clouds, and a scorching sun. The air was thick with the smells of the grass, flowers, and trees. The squirrels were running around on the branches, the birds were singing, and the insects were constantly buzzing everywhere. Nature was busy. The area was so peaceful that no one would suspect it of being a training camp for Russia's Special Forces.

Beneath an oak tree, within the shade, there was a boy lying in the grass staring at the sky. He seemed melancholy, and his gaze was somewhat empty, as if he was looking into a different world. He was still very young, less than 10 years of age. He had short, messy, black hair with bright white streaks which was completely uncared for. He was somewhat pale. There were bruises on his hands and one on his eye that he had received when he messed up blocking a high punch. His eyes were a dull gray and by his expression, one might think the boy lacked a certain quality, an affinity for living.

His trance was interrupted when he was approached by a young girl. She was also around 10 in age, she had long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and her expression was much more cheery.

"Need something?" The boy said without shifting his gaze.

"Have you picked one yet?" she said.

"Not really, I'm not very creative when it comes to this sort of thing." He replied.

The girl approached him and lied down as well. "Me neither, I mean parents are supposed to name their kids for a reason, a name is a huge responsibility." She said.

"Names, isn't a rose by any other name supposed to be as sweet or something?" The boy said half-heartedly, the girl giggled.

"Where'd you learn that?"

"Some book, I was bored." The boy replied still looking at the clouds.

The girl sighed. "Well, what if you were to call roses, manure? Would you still want to smell them?"

"I don't know." They both continued to stare up at the sky. Suddenly the girl turned around and raised her head.

"Hey, I've got an idea, how about we make up names for each other?" Her eyes were lit up at the prospect.

"Does it really matter? You're probably going to come up with something like Snuffy." The girl managed to smirk at the comment.

"Will not! I even have a cool one already thought up: Ryu." He finally turned and looked at her with a tired sigh.

"Ryu? Sounds so,"

"Cool?" she interjected before he could finish. "Come on, it's probably one of the coolest names you can have."

He looked over at her. "I'll think about it."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"What about me, you have to come up with one for me." She said excitedly. "And don't make it lame like Cherry or something."

"Well, what about Sakura?"

"Sakura?" she said while thinking it over. "I like it, it's pretty. Now, c'mon." She got up and began pulling the boy up as well. "We should tell everyone else as well."

Reluctantly, the boy got up and began following the girl. The sun was still hot, even though it wasn't overhead anymore, and it was even worse when there was no shade to shield him. Within a few moments a group of kids could be made out standing over by a table.

They were in a circle, chattering loudly. The tallest one, who seemed like the leader had a muscular build, black hair with a buzz cut and black eyes as well. He looked older than most of the group, possibly 11 or 12. Despite his somewhat menacing appearance, he seemed relaxed and laughed along with everyone. To his side was the loudest group member, he had short, brown, curly, hair and green eyes. There was nothing particularly ordinary about him other than his hands, which were both burnt and cut in many places. Across from them were the final two members. One of them was a tall boy. He was skinny with semi-long grey hair. His eyes were an odd shade of green that looked like they belong to a cat. He was somewhat aloof, but spoke up every once in a while. Although his height and quite possibly age make him a candidate for leadership, his demeanor was lacking the charisma. Next to him, was a small girl, possibly 8, she seemed very shy and looked to her companion for protection. She had bright red hair and lavender eyes which had an odd aura to them as if they saw more that one would expect.

The two remaining group members approached, and the noise quieted down. The group 'leader' spoke up. "Well, I assume everyone came up with a new name for themselves right?" Everyone nodded. "Well, let's go clockwise, I'll start. I'm going to be known as Kai from now on."

The members of the group all nodded. The talkative kid to Kai's left continued, "Well since he's Kai, I'm Raiden, or Rai for short. Don't want to break that whole Japanese theme we have going." He smirked and looked to the next person.

The grey-haired boy continued, "I've decided on Kage." The chain continued.

It was the red-hair's turn. She answered, barely audibly, "Solitaire."

"What!" exclaimed 'Raiden.' "That completely breaks our theme, make up a new one." His outburst caused the girl to shrink back.

"Calm down." said Kage. "No one said we have to pick a Japanese name."

Sakura looked over at the girl and smiled. "Don't worry Solitaire, _I_ really like it." She then shot Rai a look. "Well, I guess it's my turn, I'm Sakura. What do you think?"

"Hey, not bad." Rai said, ignoring Sakura's previous look.

Everyone turned to their last member, who until that point had been gazing at the bees flying around their table. The collective stare brought him back. "Well," the boy paused and looked around. Sakura looked intensely at him. "I guess my new name is Ryu." he finally said.

"Well that settles it; I'll go tell the major our new names." Kai stood up and began to jog toward the nearby barracks. The remainder of the group got up and went their separate ways. Kage and Solitaire walked off together. Rai turned and caught up to Kai as they made their way to the barracks. Sakura remained behind with Ryu.

"See, I told you it was cool." She said triumphantly.

"Sure." Ryu mumbled quietly, and began to return to the shade of his tree.

"Something wrong?" said Sakura.

Ryu stopped and sighed. "Nothing, it's just that it feels kind of weird."

"Well, it's like you said, a rose by any other name. Besides, you know the rules. We can't use our old names anymore. These are our names from now on." She put her hand on Ryu's shoulder. "You'll get used to it, besides it _is_ a cool name. Think of it like getting a brand new pair of shoes. You just have to break it in."

Ryu simply continued to stare at the ground. "I didn't mind being without a name, and I don't really need a new one. To be honest, I only of miss my old one because it's the only thing I have to remind me of my past."

"I'm sorry." She said and turned around. "Well, hopefully you'll get used to it, and at least it's not Snuffy." With a smirk, she turned around and began walking away. "Bye Ryu, I'll see you at dinner."

Ryu also turned around to see her walking away. He wanted to say something like 'thanks', or better yet: 'wait, hang on.' The only thing he managed to say was a half-hearted 'bye' which could barely be heard.

With a slower pace, Ryu made his way up to the tree and decided to lie down in the shade again. The sun was getting lower, and there was already a light breeze. With his mind still mulling over his new name, Ryu began to look up at the clouds again. Before he knew it, his eyes closed and he began to sleep.

-End Interlude-


	6. Answers

_**Metal Gear Ryu**_

_Summary: Metal Gear Ryu is a crossover between Harry Potter and Metal Gear Solid set as an alternative to the events of Book 6. The recent actions of Voldemort have spooked the British government into action and they do so by developing a powerful new weapon, a weapon capable of destroying an entire nation. Snake, Raiden, Otacon, and a new character, Ryu, are for various reasons trying to find it before it is launched. Problems arise, however, when the location of the Metal Gear is discovered to be Hogwarts._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Metal Gear Solid._

_Italicized text means dialogue over nano-communication. This is communication done via nano-machines inside of a person's bloodstream._

* * *

**_Ch5: Answers_**

_300 miles Northwest of London, 'Hogwarts', Scotland  
7:23 PM, October 23rd 2003_

He was awake, somehow. His eyes were still shut, and his body was either numb or experiencing dull pain. His body felt very heavy and it took a lot of effort for him to squeeze his hand into a fist. His mouth was very dry, and his stomach was slightly annoying him since he had nothing to eat since breakfast. Ryu tried hard to open his eyes. He looked around his environment carefully. He was lying in a comfortable bed, there were no chains or any bonds attached to him. His wounds were all dressed, and his equipment was gone.

His surroundings were fairly ornate. There was a fireplace keeping the room warm. Windows, according to which, Ryu thought, he was on the first floor. There was a glass of milk next to him as well as a bar of, what looked like, chocolate. The room was seemingly empty with no guards or cameras. Unsure of what to make of his predicament, Ryu opened his codec to contact Snake.

_**Ryu**: Snake, are you there?_

_**Snake**: Good, you're conscious. Are you all right? Can you move?_

_**Ryu**: Sorry, I'm in a pretty bad shape._

_**Snake**: What happened in there?_

_**Ryu**: That monster picked up a girl and he was about to kill her, I couldn't just do nothing. I messed up though; the thing managed to turn me into a golf ball with its hand._

_**Raiden**: Can you tell us where you are, and what you status is? Snake and I are going in after you._

_**Ryu**: It appears I'm in a hospital room of some sort. They didn't tie me up; I guess they figured that I won't try to escape. My equipment is gone, however. I'm not sure how well I'm able to move, but the pain is gone thankfully. Hang on, somebody is coming._

Ryu heard the doors open and slow footsteps. He watched as the old man from before walked up to his bed and sat down. Ryu eyed him, although he was still very weak, he focused all of his effort to avoid being sloppy in his conversation. He stared at him trying to figure out the intentions of his captor but resolving to remain silent.

"Well, well, I see you're awake." He said calmly, Ryu merely stared. "You can rest assured that we found both Mr. Snape and Mr. Potter, they are both fine."

"Spare me," Ryu said calmly, "I have no intention of telling you anything."

"Well, I suppose that is to be expected." He sighed. "Madam Pomfrey, will look over you until you're feeling better. I put your belongings in her care for now. When she decides that you are able to leave, you may."

The man got up and began to walk away. Ryu wasn't sure what to think or do. He was expecting to be tortured at best, most likely killed. Before the man walked too far away, Ryu said the only thing he could think of, "Where is Metal Gear?"

The man paused, and turned around. "Pardon?"

Ryu began to pull himself up, wincing at the sudden pain from having to use his sore muscles. "You heard me, where is Metal Gear?"

The man had a puzzled look on his face that looked very genuine. That angered Ryu even further. "I'm afraid I have no idea what you are talking about. I've never heard of Metal Gears."

"You're lying!"

"I assure you I am not." There was a hint of truth in his voice, but Ryu wasn't about to believe anything this man said.

"Prove it."

The man paused for a while and looked deep in thought. "Very well. While I am no expert in the matter, I assume by the assortment of your posessions you are a muggle?"

"A what?"

"A muggle, a term used by those in the magical community for people who cannot use magic."

"Wait, wait, magic?" Ryu blurted out.

"Yes, magic, you'll understand if we dispense with further interruptions" He answered somewhat forcefully.

"Look I don't need any of this right now. Magic? Is this supposed to be your idea of a joke?" Ryu began getting impatient. "This location was mentioned under the codename Hogwarts in the Project Pegasus files. Now you expect me to believe that there isn't a Metal Gear here?"

The words seemed to have some effect on him. "I see, Project Pegasus. Are you aware of the nature of this project?"

"I know it has something to do with the recent series of unexplained events." Ryu threw out off-handedly.

"There is, actually, an excellent explanation for them."

"What? A wizard did it?" Ryu snapped back.

"Actually, yes. A dark wizard named Voldemort to be exact."

Ryu tried to suppress the urge to burst out laughing; with his body in the shape that it was it would have be a very painful experience. "I don't have time to look at magic tricks or listen to stories about unicorns. Like I said, this place was mentioned in the files for Project Pegasus and I want some answers. Why is there a stealth field around this entire compound, why was there a monster in the entrance hall, and _where is Metal Gear?_" Ryu tried hard to emphasize the last question without yelling.

Much to Ryu's irritation, the old man wasn't fazed by Ryu's questions. He patiently listened, then thought, and then finally answered, "Do you see that chocolate bar on your desk?"

"What does that have to do with,"

"Pick it up please." The man said forcefully, after interrupting Ryu.

Ryu obliged and picked up the chocolate bar, he looked at it and seemed like a normal piece of chocolate. He looked back up at the man who reached into his pocket and also pulled out a long thin stick just like everyone had earlier. "Ok, what is up with those pieces of wood?" The old man ignored his question and pointed it at the piece of chocolate. Ryu was getting sick of the old man's ignorance, he was calmly planning how to put that idiot into a chokehold and force some answers out of him, when suddenly he saw something emanate from the wand, it was unlike the beams he had seen before. It was a flicker of a very faint light. Suddenly he felt the chocolate in his hand squirm; he looked down to notice that he was no longer holding a bar of chocolate, but a chocolate colored mouse. Stranger yet, the mouse was glowing just as faint as the flash had been.

The man put away that stick and smiled, "There, does that satisfy your skepticism about magic?"

Ryu wasn't sure what to think. Sure, he's seen magicians turn eggs into doves inside top hats, but this guy turned chocolate into a mouse _in his hand_. Besides, something was weird about that light he had seen, it felt genuine, as if some sort of force caused the change and not a weird sleight of hand. He must have been crazy to listen, but Ryu finally decided to play along. "Suppose you're right, magic is real. That still doesn't explain your involvement with Project Pegasus and the Metal Gear."

"Ah but have you looked around your room? Wizards, for some time now, have lived without muggle technology. We do not need airplanes, or guns, or electricity. We use magic to replace all those inventions muggles have come up with. So you see there is no way our wizards could build or operate something which I would assume is a muggle machine." He explained.

Ryu eyed him for a while, first he was to believe magic existed, and now that wizards were technologically backwards this seemed ridiculous. Rather than arguing it further, Ryu decided to change the topic. "Fine, but you _do_ know about Project Pegasus, why don't you tell me about that instead?"

"My knowledge is quite limited I'm afraid. Just as the British parliament announced this project to the muggles, the Ministry of Magic declared that they will also begin a new project to coincide with the muggles'. Now this seemed slightly suspicious,"

"Wait a minute," Ryu suddenly remembered those crimson letters, MM, "Ministry of Magic, can that abbreviate to MM?"

The old man stroked his beard, "It is very possible, yes."

Despite the whole thing about magic and evil wizards, he had something to go on now. MM the 'Ministry of Magic', or whatever, was on the payroll for Project Pegasus and it just happened to announce to these 'wizards' that it's starting its own project alongside the British Government. It still seemed murky with many holes, but something about it made sense. The British are using the pretense of national defense to build a new super weapon; that part made sense especially after the Ray debacle. Meanwhile these wizards get the feeling of protection from the construction of what they think is a weapon to fight that evil Vlad or Vold or whatever his name was, sounds plausible if you can believe this whole 'magic' crap. Throughout his thinking he failed to notice that his companion stopped talking.

When Ryu finally looked up he continued, "I was approached by the current minister of magic, he asked me to allow them to use Hogwarts as the construction site for this new project, which I assumed tied in with Project Pegasus. I declined his offer on the grounds that this is a school, and it may attract Voldemort's followers. I heard nothing about the project since, but your presence and the troll's attack confirmed my suspicions, that Hogwarts is nevertheless being used to build whatever it is they are building."

"Fine, if this is the case, tell me where they could be building it."

The old man gave him a weak smile, "I'm afraid I wouldn't have the faintest idea where it is."

"What?"

"You see, this castle is several centuries old, and even I do not claim to know all of its secrets; in all honesty I have no idea what I'm looking for to begin with let alone where it could be hidden."

"Damn it!" Ryu slammed his fist against the bed. "It could take weeks searching this entire castle, assuming that it's even _in_ the castle." Ryu opened his codec.

_**Ryu**: Snake, come in Snake, it's Ryu._

_**Snake**: What is it? Is everything all right?_

_**Ryu**: I'm fine, most of my injuries were dressed and the guy in charge is letting me go, but I'm afraid I have some bad news._

_**Snake**: What is it?_

_**Ryu**: My suspicions were confirmed, this isn't a military compound, it's a school._

_**Snake**: What? That doesn't make any sense, why is it listed in the project's records?_

_**Ryu**: Well, It may not be a military compound, but it is well hidden. From what I've been told it's possible that Metal Gear was smuggled and is being covertly built inside this place without the school knowing._

_**Raiden**: But why use a civilian building? It's much safer in a military facility with proper security._

_**Ryu**: I don't know._

_**Otacon**: If you ask me, I think the reason for this is due to the increased tension after the Discovery and the Big Shell incidents. Nations are paranoid about further Metal Gear developments and have a keen eye on any such potential threats. This would mean that all military installations could be under constant surveillance by satellite. But this place showed up as empty on military sat photos, and without Ryu we wouldn't have seen it in the first place. It's perfect to hide something like a Metal Gear from the eyes of enemy agents and satellites._

_**Raiden**: Why not apply similar security measures to a military structure?_

_**Ryu**: I can answer that, but it's a stretch._

_**Snake**: What do you mean?_

_**Ryu**: According to this guy, this place is a school for wizards._

_**Raiden**: Say what?_

_**Ryu**: Yeah, I know. It doesn't make much sense, but according to him their government, called the Ministry of Magic, commissioned another project alongside Pegasus. This was in response to the recent chain of events._

_**Otacon**: Wait a sec, Ministry of Magic, MM?_

_**Ryu**: I had the same suspicion as well. Besides it's like you said, this place is both big and secluded enough to hide the construction of a Metal Gear._

_**Snake**: But the details are sketchy at best, we need more evidence before we can commit to a full search. Otherwise we could be wasting more time before its completion._

"Is something the matter?" Ryu looked up to notice the old man standing looking at him. During his codec conversation Ryu wasn't talking out loud which probably made his behavior suspicious to the old man.

"Nothing. In any case, is there any chance you saw something out of the ordinary lately, anything that can hint at where the Metal Gear is being built?"

The man shook his head, "I'm afraid you and that troll were the first two things out of the ordinary that I had seen in months."

Ryu slowly began to get up, it was painful at first but his muscles adjusted to it. This startled the guy. "You shouldn't be getting up quite so soon."

Ryu looked at him, "I don't have that much time to be injured, I need to start looking for Metal Gear right away."

"If that is the case, why don't you enroll here?"

"Come again?"

"If you enroll here, you would be far less conspicuous and I can avoid more students being knocked unconscious."

"You would trust me? I _did_ take out two of your people, and what makes you think I have a benign purpose?"

"You saved Ms. Chang, I would believe that anyone with a sinister purpose would have let her die."

_**Snake**: Ryu, I think you should take him up on this._

_**Ryu**: You were listening?_

_**Snake**: Yes._

_**Raiden**: Wait a minute, I thought we agreed it was a stretch._

_**Snake**: Yea, but you can't deny the evidence that brought us here._

_**Raiden**: Agreed, but there's still a lot of things we aren't clear on._

_**Snake**: Which is why I think we should leave this to Ryu. He is the only one of us who can fit in, and that way we have all the bases covered._

_**Ryu**: What do you plan to do in the meantime?_

_**Snake**: Otacon thinks he found the Dragonic Ethics main building. We're going to look in on it._

_**Ryu**: Fine._

"Very well," Ryu consented, "I'll join this school for the time being. But what makes you think that I can go here. I'm not a wizard of any sort. I'd stick out."

"To the contrary," the man looked at him, "you will fit in just fine; you _are_ a wizard after all."

"What? That's nuts!" Ryu exclaimed.

"This castle is enchanted so that muggles would be unable to see it, and want to leave the area immediately remembering something else that they had to do." He began. "You, on the other hand, can see everything just fine which means that you have some wizard blood in you after all."

"I think you're mistaken, there are other reasons as to why I can see the castle." Ryu began.

"I do not think so, no one can mistake those eyes of yours." The man was looking straight at him.

Ryu looked back at him, his eyes, there was definitely something about them, he knew since birth he had incredible eyesight, he could see well beyond any other neighborhood kid and he always spotted the enemies well before any of his teammates could. Ryu assumed his eyes allowed him to see the castle. But it seems the old man took that into account as well.

"I could be wrong of course, but we shall see very soon anyway, wouldn't you agree?"

Ryu grunted a quick response to the man's cryptic speech.

"Thank you."

Ryu looked at him. "What are you thanking me for?"

"Because I don't think I will be able to understand what is going on without your help."

Ryu nodded, "Your welcome."

"I suppose we should make the arrangements then, you will need supplies for your tenure here."

"And I will need some equipment from home as well."

"I'm afraid muggle technology doesn't work with the magical interference in this castle."

"Not to worry, my equipment has been shielded from all EM radiation; I don't think magic will be any different." Ryu slowly got up, ignoring the prods of pain all over his body. "Whatever supplies I need, you should have them in two days. I'll be back by then." With that Ryu took slow steps toward the door where his equipment was.

"I don't believe I've introduced myself, I'm Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts." Ryu turned around and saw him stretch out his hand.

Ryu reached out and shook his. "My name is Ryu. Pleasure to be working you."

_London, United Kingdom  
9:44 AM, October 24th 2003_

The restaurant was quiet for the most part, there was a soft jazz tune playing on the radio, and the soft murmur of the crowd created a quiet and relaxed atmosphere. At the table near a corner sat 3 men and a teenager. All of them were wearing raincoats and they seemed like they were doing nothing in particular.

Snake leaned back on the brown cushioned chair; all of them had finished their meal and were waiting for someone to bring them the check. He looked over to Ryu who was quietly starring out the window at the cloudy sky.

"So, you never told us, why are you after Metal Gear?"

Ryu snapped out of his trance, "I thought I did, to find my friends." He threw out and looked back at the window.

"You're a bad liar. You say your friends like it's some sort of watch that you can't find. You never talk about them, and I don't even know their names. So spill it, why are you after Metal Gear?"

There was a long pause with everyone at the table looking over at Ryu. He seemed to be in deep thought. He finally turned over to Snake, took a breath and began talking. "Around four years ago, my unit's training and mission regimens began to shift toward usage of machines, such as the metal gear. We had run several combat simulations and we _had_ practiced with vehicles before but usually our missions were done on foot. I'm not sure exactly what happened afterwards, but I remember finding out about a Metal Gear about two years later, and getting shot for some reason. I don't know what happened to me in that four year span, but I do remember waking up in a hospital with amnesia. I had no memory of any events for those two years. As a matter of fact, it took me six months before I could make any sense of my memories. Even now my past is just a huge cloud with a few bright patches, a memory here or there."

Ryu turned his head, and lost himself in that one memory, that guy was holding a gun to his face and he pulled the trigger, without any hesitation. And she was there, standing, all of them were. He couldn't make out any faces, but he knew it was them. "I want to find out what happened, I want my memories back."

There was another long pause, "As for my friends," Ryu turned and looked straight into Snake's eyes. There were several emotions on Ryu's face at the moment: spite, anger, and hatred. He began in a cold tone, "I never want to see them again."

With those words he put some money on the table, and walked outside putting the hood over his head. The sky had gotten darker, and began to rain. Walking down the street, slowly, Ryu looked up at the cloudy sky.

"Should I ever see you again," Ryu clenched his fist remembering the cold face of his shooter. "I'll gladly return the favor."

-End Ch. 5-

_Author's Notes:_

-Ok from now on, I'm going to try to put some more focus on Snake and Raiden.

- And I also realized that Rai and Raiden have the same names. So Rai is Ryu's old teammate while Raiden is Snake's partner.

-Told you there was a good reason as to why he could see the castle


	7. Transition

_**Metal Gear Ryu**_

_Summary: Metal Gear Ryu is a crossover between Harry Potter and Metal Gear Solid set as an alternative to the events of Book 6. The recent actions of Voldemort have spooked the British government into action and they do so by developing a powerful new weapon, a weapon capable of destroying an entire nation. Snake, Raiden, Otacon, and a new character, Ryu, are for various reasons trying to find it before it is launched. Problems arise, however, when the location of the Metal Gear is discovered to be Hogwarts._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Metal Gear Solid._

_Italicized text means dialogue over nano-communication. This is communication done via nano-machines inside of a person's bloodstream._

* * *

_** Ch6: Transition**_

_Hogwarts, Scotland  
8:14 AM, October 25th 2003_

The clouds had cleared up since last time, and the gray sky was lit up by the morning sun. Ryu had gotten out of the car and began walking towards the castle ahead of him. He had assembled a large assortment of gear in both his backpack and duffel bag. It included his customized laptop with specifically shielded circuits, sniper rifle, both of his pistols with ammo and silencer attachments, throwing knives and grenades, his personal combat knife, raiden's katana, and several other handy items. Little of it had anything to do with education, but Ryu figured this wouldn't take too long so he didn't pack anything that would make him seem 'normal'. He had walked up to the gates when he heard loud barking, great _now_ they had security.

"All right Fang, calm yerself." Ryu heard a gruff voice as the gates in front of him opened. In front of him he saw feet, and as he looked up, a huge gruff man. He reminded Ryu of lumberjacks from fairy tales, who were supposed to be at least 8-feet tall. The guy really needed a haircut, he had a mane of hair in his head, including his huge beard. But he definitely looked formidable. Ryu tensed, and began to plan how to avoid an attack if it would come.

"Calm down, I ain' gonna fight yeh, 'specially after what yeh did to that troll." Ryu relaxed his stance a bit and looked the giant in the eye. "Yer Ryu aren't yeh? Dumbledore said you'd be droppin' by." His accent was hard to place, but it was thick, somewhat Scottish. He didn't seem like the type of guy who would brandish a giant club just to smash him either.

"And who are you then?" Ryu said calmly, staring up at the giant.

"I'm Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of the Keys and Ground at Hogwarts." The man said proudly.

"So you're basically a security guard, right?"

"Yeh don' have to say it like that. This is an' important position and Dumbledore trusts me with it."

"Yes, I noticed that about him. Incidentally, what were you doing two days ago anyway?"

"I was teachin' a class, blimey. Now listen up, are yeh goin' to walk into Hogwarts dressed like that?" He looked over Ryu, "Yeh need some proper Robes." He reached into a bag he was holding and pulled out a uniform similar to the one Ryu had 'borrowed'.

Ryu sloppily pulled it over his clothes and picked up his things again. "Well, satisfied?"

Hagrid, shook his head, "No, no, yeh got it on all wrong. Look,"

"I don't have time to play dress up," Ryu dismissed him and began walking toward Hogwarts. "Just take me to Dumbledore, all right?"

Sure, the guy was somewhat irritated, but it couldn't be helped. This time there was no need for infiltration, all he had to do was find a metal gear, and the faster he got in, the faster he could start searching.

They didn't talk for the rest of the way. The two of them had passed the stadium where Ryu had heard the game going on earlier. They kept walking through the grounds all the way until they had reached the main castle itself, it stood towering over Ryu. Last time Ryu didn't get the chance to fully look over the structure. It seemed as if the castle was stuck in time. Composed of a beige stone it looked and felt like it had lived for several centuries. Dumbledore had mentioned that wizards hadn't used technology; the castle's antiquity seemed to affirm it. They arrived at the two familiar double doors which Ryu had entered before.

"Dumbledore is waitin' inside, best of luck to yeh." Hagrid said and began to walk away.

"I'll see you around." Ryu waved and walked through the doors. The place had changed somewhat since the last time he was there. First of all, the mess from his battle was all gone; the wall looked as good as new. Second, the students seemed somewhat less talkative and a whole bunch of them turned to look at Ryu when he stepped in. He looked around the room; they were definitely paranoid, that's for sure. Ignoring the gazes and whispers, Ryu began walking through the room as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Eventually the students all started walking again, and for the most part, left him alone. Amongst the crowd he saw some teachers, one of them Ryu recognized from his previous visit and he was looking at him with one of those 'if looks could kill' looks. Inwardly Ryu smirked but avoided the gaze nonetheless. Finally, he saw Dumbledore, descending the large marble staircase in front of him.

The two exchanged hellos and without wasting any time Dumbledore lead Ryu to his office. On the way there, they had encountered a stone gargoyle. Much to Ryu's surprise it jumped aside when Dumbledore mentioned the words 'licorice wand.' At the top of the stairs they arrived in front of a large oak door.

"Well, here we are, this is my office." Dumbledore said.

"Okay, I suppose we should go over some of the details regarding my stay."

"We could, but I assume you are hungry after your trip here. How about we get something to eat first?"

Ryu was slightly famished, but he was used to irregular eating patterns. And at the moment he was more interested in getting everything set up, he could eat afterwards. "I suppose I could have a sandwich or something, but I'd rather get started."

"Very well, we should start by getting you settled in." Dumbledore began as they stepped inside his office. It was a beautifully adorned room, with a few dozen paintings of men and women resting on some chair.

"Your predecessors?" Ryu nodded to the pictures.

"Why yes, these were the previous headmasters of Hogwarts." They came to a large wooden desk. Dumbledore offered Ryu a seat while he picked up an old hat from his mantle as well as a few scraps of parchment and placed them on the table in front of Ryu. "Now then, we should begin by getting you sorted."

"Sorted?"

"Yes," Dumbledore picked up the old hat, "Hogwarts is divided between four houses in which our students reside: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw."

"Named after the people who commissioned this castle?" Ryu said, remembering his conversation with Otacon.

"Impressive, I see you've done some research."

"Something like that, sure. So what is that hat?"

"This hat is called The Sorting Hat" Dumbledore said plainly. "We use it to determine which students will belong to which house."

"And let me guess, you have the names of the houses written on those pieces of paper, and I have to pull one out?" Ryu said.

"No, no, quite the opposite. You see, the founders of Hogwarts enchanted this hat so that it may be used to decide which student belongs in which house. It chooses the house based on where you would fit in. Bravery with Gryffindor, loyalty with Hufflepuff, wisdom with Ravenclaw, and ambition with Slytherin."

Ryu looked at the hat; it was going to read his mind? That was a laugh. And even if it could, there wouldn't be much for it to read. Nevertheless, Ryu resigned to Dumbledore's idea "Ok, so what do I do?"

"Put it on."

Ryu picked up the hat, carefully to avoid the ragged thing from falling apart, and placed it on his head. "All right hat do your worst." He mumbled.

At first it was awkwardly silent. "Well now, this is interesting" he heard a tiny voice whisper inside his head. "I've never met someone whose mind is so tangled." Somewhat freaked out by the hat's voice and comments, Ryu began to get a little edgy.

"Just make it quick, and don't poke around too much."

"You're very loyal and brave," the hat continued, "I can see that, perhaps a few years ago Hufflepuff or Gryffindor might have been a perfect fit. But now I'm not so sure." Now Ryu began to get irritated. There was another silence "Strange and stranger indeed. From what you harbor I suppose Slytherin might be a better match for your plans wouldn't you agree?"

"Look," Ryu began icily, "stop looking at my past and pick a damn house already."

"Very well," the hat said unfazed. "I cannot make your choices for you, if you still have doubts then perhaps, Ravenclaw!" the hat had announced the last word quite loudly. Ryu finally took off the hat and tossed it on the table.

"Now that that's settled," Dumbledore began, "I shall send your things up to the tower. You'll find the dormitory in the west tower of the castle, and I will tell Professor Filtwick about you joining his house." Dumbledore took the pieces of parchment and handed them to Ryu. "This will be your schedule as well as the map to the tower and the password for the dormitory. Now then, is there anything else?"

Ryu was somewhat pensive after listening to the hat's interpretation of his mind. He snapped out of it and looked at Dumbledore. He pulled out a stack of papers from his duffel bag. "This is all the data I have on the Metal Gear, it outlines its specs, and known as well as supposed capabilities." Dumbledore took the stack from him and listed through a few of the pages. "If anything should come up I'll let you know. Meanwhile, I'll go set up." Ryu said this very quickly and got up.

"We shall see each other soon, I suppose?" Dumbledore asked looking up from the papers.

"Count on it." Ryu said and walked out of the door. He had a lot of things left to do, especially making sure that he could contact Snake and Otacon via a system Otacon had improvised in the two days they had to prepare. But at the moment, none of this really bothered him. That stupid hat. Loyalty, bravery, what a fool Ryu had been.

_Corporate Headquarters of Leon Defense Corporation, United Kingdom_

_9:23 PM, October 25th 2003_

It was a pretty bad day for William S. Nichols. He got chewed up for arriving late for work. The rain made traffic especially cruddy. After being yelled at by his manager, he had to drudge through piles upon piles of messy code written by his incompetent interns. When he was finally released, it started to rain again just as he was about to enjoy his maple macchiato.

His workplace, the Leon Defense Inc, was a recently created defense contractor in charge of systems software for tanks, fighters, and other combat machinery. He was very surprised when his boss landed a contract with the famed Dragon Ethics to work on a top secret OS designed for a classified project which in turn made his life hell. His orders were vague at best; he assumed this was to maintain secrecy, but made it difficult to delegate tasks to interns who were even more confused by the abstract parameters. Thankfully he was getting paid big time for this, and when it was over, he was going to take a year-long vacation if possible.

"Nice weather isn't it?" Will turned around to see a man running up to him under the cover of the entrance. He was tall with messy brown hair and wearing a pair of glasses. He was soaking wet, and not wearing any rain clothes, on top of that he was carrying two metal suitcases and a keycard.

"Yeah, the rain is getting annoying." Will yelled back at the man who put his suitcases down once he was under the cover. "You new here?" he said pointing to the man's ID card. Will hadn't seen the guy around before, and he was pretty sure he saw most of the employees at least once.

The man laughed a bit after catching his breath, "Yeah, I guess you could say that, I was just transferred in and I'm late my first day, can you believe it?"

Will nodded, "It's a mess in there, good luck trying to get settled in. And a word of advice, try not to argue too much, everyone's nerves are shot over the new project."

The man smiled, "Great, is this the way you guys always greet newcomers?"

Will was about to answer, when he felt a sharp jolt on his right side, he looked down and notices a small black taser pressed to his right rib, and then he fell down limp.

"Good job Otacon." Snake and Raiden had walked up to the unconscious man and picked him up. "We need to get moving, most of the staff have left, and the night shift hasn't gotten set up yet." Snake finally hid the body behind the tall bushes.

They entered through the gray doors using Otacon's key card, the inside was painted a warm green tone with a large semi-circular security desk facing the entrance. Behind it, sat a lone security guard who was surprised to see a trio of men walking straight into the building, two of which were wearing body armor and carrying assault weapons.

"Don't worry," Otacon said calmly, pulling out his badge before the guard could get up, "These guys are with me, I was sent here to make sure that the project is coming along on schedule and they'll play the role of extra security."

The guard sat down still eyeing the three of them with suspicion. "Ok, but let me check the guest log, to make sure everything's legit."

Raiden walked up to the guard who was busy typing up data on his computer and pulled out a small syringe filled with an anesthetic from his pocket. "I don't think there's going to be any need to worry."

Raiden's proximity startled the guard who turned around to face him, but didn't have time to react as Ryu plunged the needle into his upper left arm. Within seconds the guard passed out. Raiden nodded at Otacon as he pushed the chair out of the way. Otacon in turn walked up behind the security desk and accessed the main console.

"Ok, this place's main security and power is going to shut down in a few minutes; on top of that I'm giving us access into the lower server room. It should have the data that we need." Snake and Raiden nodded.

"Let's go over this." Snake said to the two of them. "Our target is the server room at the third basement of this building, it's pretty heavily guarded but it contains relative files from Dragon Ethics regarding Project Pegasus, I'm sure these files will help us figure out if the Metal Gear really is at Hogwarts."

Otacon nodded, "Ok, my virus is in the system, just give it a few more minutes and there's going to be a bang."

Several gunshots made all three of them take cover. "There are intruders at the entrance, heavily armed, they've taken out the security guard."

"Well, so much for a smooth ride." Raiden smirked. The guards continued taking shots at them with their pistols. Raiden peeked out from the corner to see what was going on behind the table. One of the guards was approaching them while the other two were shooting to keep them suppressed. "Snake, cover me, I'll take out the guy out front."

"You have a plan?"

"Sort of. Just cover me." Raiden jumped out on top of the table and quickly went prone then placed two shots into the advancing guard's head. Snake popped out as well and fired a spray of his M4 in the direction of the other two guards to keep them pinned. Meanwhile Raiden had already dropped down to the other side of the table and was using his pistol to cover his approach. "I saw this in Max Payne, so it _should_ work." Raiden yelled out to Snake.

"Raiden, what kind of stunt are you trying to," Snake didn't get the chance to finish the question. Raiden had already gotten to nearly a 45 degree angle with the wall the guards were taking cover behind. Then in a moment of sheer skill and stupidity he leaped horizontally, head first, to avoid exposing his body to the guards while firing off his clip in the direction of the guards' heads. He hit the floor hard and quickly rolled into cover. But thankfully he took out both of the guards.

"Raiden, what the _hell_ was that?" Snake was yelling, after getting out of cover. There were debris and glass shards all over the area.

Raiden got up as well, his blonde hair partially colored by the blood from his head. "Ow, maybe I should have practiced the landing." He brushed the remaining dirt off his suit and looked at Snake. "We should get going; there'll be more on the way."

Snake rolled his eyes, "You play too many video games."

Within seconds the lights flickered and shut down. The brightly lit hallways suddenly were bathed in a weak red hue from the auxiliary lighting. Snake and Raiden took out their silenced pistols. "NOD's on." Said Snake after pulling down his goggles and turning them on. Raiden and Otacon followed suit. They had walked up to the staircase leading toward the basement. The three looked at each other and nodded. "Who Dares, Wins." Snake mumbled and the three began their descent.

-End Ch. 6-

_Author's Notes_:  
-As promised, Ryu is taking a break  
-I know Ryu doesn't _seem_ like he has the wisdom required to be in Ravenclaw, but again, there's a good reason.  
-I suck with writing Hagrid's accent so please, be gentle.


	8. Assault

_**Metal Gear Ryu**_

_Summary: Metal Gear Ryu is a crossover between Harry Potter and Metal Gear Solid set as an alternative to the events of Book 6. The recent actions of Voldemort have spooked the British government into action and they do so by developing a powerful new weapon, a weapon capable of destroying an entire nation. Snake, Raiden, Otacon, and a new character, Ryu, are for various reasons trying to find it before it is launched. Problems arise, however, when the location of the Metal Gear is discovered to be Hogwarts._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Metal Gear Solid._

_Italicized text means dialogue over nano-communication. This is communication done via nano-machines inside of a person's bloodstream._

_A backslash the name of a person talking signifies communication done via instant messaging.  
_

* * *

_ **Ch7: Assault**_

_Corporate Headquarters of Leon Defense Inc, United Kingdom  
9:49 PM, October 25th 2003_

"Nine guards. These guys didn't take long to get ready for us." Raiden said after observing the building's soldiers in the room at the bottom of the stairs. The staircase was fairly long and had a ninety degree turn before facing the main entryway into the basement. There were cameras, a few computer workstations and a bunch of tables. The room was bathed in the red glow of the auxiliary lighting so much that their NODs were useless. To Raiden, it seemed they were descending into hell.

"G-36 Assault Rifles, Kevlar Body armor, NODs, this equipment is pretty top-notch." Commented Snake, "I'm betting that these guys got sent here by our friends at Dragonic Ethics." Snake took out his MP5 and put in a magazine with a silent click, then turned and faced his teammates. "Otacon, stay behind, we don't want you getting into a firefight with us. Raiden and I will clear out this room."

"Do you have a plan Snake?" Raiden said after taking out his MP5 as well and attaching his silencer.

"We should be able to take out at least four by surprise if we're fast and careful. The other five as well as any reinforcements will use those tables for cover. We'll have to leapfrog around them." Snake whispered and walked up to the corner of the staircase. He motioned for Raiden to follow suit. "Otacon, relay their position to us, but don't expose yourself." Otacon nodded. Snake looked over at Raiden who nodded and gripped his MP5 tightly.

In a flash the two of them tore out from behind cover and ran quickly down their stairs. Snake fired first into the guard closest to them at the bottom of the stairs, Raiden trained his fire on the second-closest guard who was reaching for his gun. In tandem, the two rolled behind the nearest desks just in time for the remaining seven guards to open a barrage of loud assault rifle fire. Snake rolled out and fired off a few more shots at the guards who were still trying to find cover and managed to down one of them. The remaining ones had managed to hide in time.

_**Raiden**: Snake, we're pinned.  
**Snake**: We don't have the luxury to be pinned, cover me!_

Raiden, with his silencer off, used the corners of the desk to fire off wild shots at any guard foolish enough to show their head. In the midst of the battle he heard a click and saw a small object flying through the air. There was a loud hiss and smoke began pouring out in the center of the room.

_**Snake**: Move, damn it!_

After replacing his magazine which was running low, Raiden ran out from behind the table while firing ten-round bursts in the direction of the enemy guards. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Snake firing off precision bursts into the smoke, he was probably using his thermal goggles to help him see the enemies through the smoke screen. Following suit, he switched to his thermal vision and noticed several blobs of light which represented the guards, both living and dead. Taking refuge behind another table Raiden kept firing into the smoke. He took out a grenade, quickly pulled the pin, and tossed it over the table. There was a loud explosion, both of them took shelter from the flying debris and the blood spatter.

After a few more rounds of gunfire, the room fell silent. Snake carefully peeked from behind the table and looked around the room. He trained his gun in the direction of the remaining spots where the guards were supposed to be and fired a few round for precaution. There was no response. He looked over to Raiden who was on the other side of the room and nodded. Raiden peeked up from his cover and trained his gun forward, then he nodded and motioned to Snake to show that he was covering him.

Snake took his time, carefully advancing toward the door at the end of the room. It was now dimmer than originally due to some of the lights being destroyed in the firefight. Snake checked behind the tables and the columns at the far side of the room and found only bodies of the dead guards. After finding the ninth he holstered his gun and opened the codec.

_**Snake**: All of the guards are taken out, Otacon you can come down now.  
**Otacon**: All right, just don't shoot me.  
**Raiden**: Don't worry about it.  
**Snake**: Raiden, get to the door and use the Snake Cam, see if there are any guards ascending the main stairwell. I'm surprised no reinforcements got here yet.  
**Raiden**: Got it._

Raiden ran up to the door and reached into one of his pouches containing his surveillance equipment. He took the chord and slipped the camera end under the doorway. After he finished, he took turned on the display.

_**Raiden**:__Snake, the main stairwell is empty.  
**Snake**: You mean no one noticed the firefight?  
**Raiden**: Wait a minute, I see something.  
**Snake**: What is it?  
**Raiden**: Bodies, they're security guards, but they're dead.  
**Snake**: Shot?  
**Raiden**: No, I can't see well from here but there are no signs of bullet wounds.  
**Snake**: We should go check this out._

Snake approached the door carefully while Raiden retracted his camera. They both stood in front of the dark-grey door, nodded, and Snake carefully turned the handle then pushed the door forward. It swung silently open and both of them trained their guns toward the darkened stairs.

There lights were mostly out with a few flickering rapidly casting a dark red undertone to the passage. Snake was tempted to shut off his NOD after taking a thorough look at the stairs. Every few steps a body would lay sprawled across it, some of them were guards in their BDU, while others were wearing shirts and ties like the other workers of this place. They had various facial expressions: some fear, some surprise, while some determination. The latter, Snake assumed, were the ones who died first.

Raiden broke the eerie silence, "What could have done this, poison?"

Snake leaned over to one of the guards, "Their weapons were fired, that means that they saw someone enter and probably tried to fight them off. So the only way this could be poison is if it was poison gas." Raiden suddenly gripped his mouth and held his breath. "If there was any poison gas here," Snake continued, "The sensors in my watch would have picked it up, don't worry."

They kept descending slowly down the stairs. Both had turned on the flashlights attached at the bottom of their guns. "If it's not poison, what could have taken out so many people, especially in a firefight?" asked Raiden.

"Who knows, magic?" replied Snake.

"Do you think so?" asked Raiden.

"I don't know what to think." They approached the door at the bottom which lead into the server room.

_**Snake**: Otacon, someone got down here before us.  
**Otacon**: What?  
**Snake**: The guards are all dead, and the door into the server room is unlocked.  
**Otacon**: Check to see if the servers are still intact, I'll be down there right away._

Snake approached the door and motioned to Raiden to follow him. "It could still be a trap." He pushed the door open gently to reveal their destination. The room was bathed in a weak emerald hue. There were several shelves full of machinery, most of which were toppled over or had several bullet holes in them. There were still a few fires burning and electricity crackling at the back end of the room.

"So now they use bullets?" Raiden was kneeling over the bodies of the two dead guards in front of them. "This makes no sense. Did they just magically make the guards shoot themselves too?"

"No." Snake knelt next to Raiden. "The bullet patterns indicate burst shots, not possible with the G36s full-auto mode, or the pistols these guys were carrying."

They heard footsteps behind them and quickly pivoted to face the door. "Calm down guys, it's just me." Otacon said nervously. Snake and Raiden lowered their weapons. "What happened here?"

"I don't know." Snake stood up and began walking slowly down toward the back of the room. "Is there anything we can use here?"

Otacon shook his head, "I doubt it, they did a thorough job. But I don't get it, how did they sneak in here without you guys seeing it. Stealth technology?"

Snake said loudly as he was looking around the room, "No, the people on the second floor were running away which means that they appeared somewhere there."

Raiden quickly stood up. "But there's no way in except through the staircase. They couldn't have gotten to the second floor unless they somehow teleported there."

"Guys, I think you should look at this." Otacon and Raiden turned and walked over toward Snake. In front of them was the source of the room's illumination: a hovering green wisp of smoke in the shape of a skull with a serpent extending from one of the eyes.

Otacon quickly took out a camera and took a picture. "Either someone has radioactive cigarettes," Raiden spoke out, "or this is some kind of," he paused.

"Magic?" Snake suggested.

"But that doesn't make any sense." Otacon mumbled as he walked up to one of the destroyed servers. "The door on the way in was opened without any sign of tampering. They didn't try cracking the password or messing with the wires. But then, how do you explain this." He picked up a piece of debris and showed it to Snake.

"What is it?" Raiden said looking over the piece carefully.

"A detonator." Snake took it and placed it into one of his pouches.

"What the hell is this supposed to mean?" Raiden said with an irritated tone. "First we have people who magically appear in this building, magically kill a bunch of guards, magically open a well-secured door, then they suddenly use conventional guns and explosives to finish the job, and magically disappear? What are they, some sort of human/magician joint task force?"

"Or," Snake said calmly, "They're magicians who know how to use guns." He looked over at Otacon who was looking over at one of the servers. "Is there something wrong?"

"I think I can use this." Otacon said after finally looking up. "It's damaged but I think I know a way to extract the data, maybe we'll get lucky."

"What do you have in mind?" Asked Snake.

"I have to call a friend of mine, although I haven't talked to her since college, I'm sure she can help us. She is very good with this sort of thing. Although,"

"Although what?"

"I haven't talked to her in a while, and she isn't the friendliest person in the world to be exact."

_Los Angeles, United States  
2:25 PM, October 25th 2003_

Why do people have to bother her so much? Chloe was busy with all the work Tony was making her do, she was behind on the protocols, and she had to get them ready before her break which was way overdue. And now, on top of all things, her cell phone went off. She looked up at Tony's office to make sure he wasn't looking. Then she got up and made her way to the bathroom. The policy was that no cell phones were allowed to be on, especially after all the disasters that happened to the office, but few people actually followed it.

After making her way to the bathroom, and finding an empty stall, she opened up her cell phone. "This is Chloe. Who is this?"

"Chloe? It's Hal."

"Hal, Hal Emmerich?" Chloe tried to keep her voice, down. She hadn't spoken to him in several years.

"Yeah, it's me. Sorry to call you like this but I need your help."

"Look Hal, I'm very busy right now can't this wait?"

"Chloe, you know I wouldn't call you if it was something I could do by myself or if it was trivial."

"You never really called me to begin with. So, no, I wouldn't know."

"I know, I'm sorry, but please? I need your help on this."

Chloe thought about it for a moment. "Fine, what is it?"

"We recovered a server from a defense firm. It's partly destroyed but I think some of the data can still be recovered. Do you think you can help me get it?"

She sighed; this was going to be a lot of work. "Fine, I'll send you the IP address of my workstation. Send me the server data on a secure stream, I still have a lot of things I need to do."

"Thanks Chloe. I appreciate it."

"Yeah, whatever." She turned off the phone and left the stall. Tony would kill her if he found out about this.

She got to her workstation and already found an incoming signal. She opened it while masking her own IP so no one would notice her working on something else. Most of the files she recovered were damaged beyond recovery. Only a few had enough left to be analyzed. A message window popped up on her screen.

**/Hal**: Anything?  
**/Chloe**: Yeah some of these files can still be opened but they're protected with a high-level encryption. Where did you get these?  
**/Hal**: Never mind that, can you break it?  
**/Chloe**: Maybe.

After several attempts she finally managed to compile a working de-crypter. The program ran and her computer made several noises to show that it was working. In a few seconds, a steady stream of data began to scroll. Most of it made no sense to her, but after a while she began to recognize subroutines she had seen before when she was taking classes in advanced robotics. Then it hit her.

**/Chloe**: Hal, where did you get these files?  
**/Hal**: I told you, don't worry about it.  
**/Chloe**: These files, they're separate versions of an OS. But the configuration is for some kind of giant robot. I think these are for Metal Gears.  
**/Hal**: Thanks, can you send me these?  
**/Chloe**: Not before you tell me where you got these.  
**/Hal**: I can't, not yet.  
**/Chloe**: Hal, CTU is investigating the disappearance of two American agents in Britain that may have found the development of a Metal Gear before their disappearance. It can't be some kind of coincidence you're sending me this now.  
**/Hal**: Look, I don't know what's going on myself, and I'd prefer you didn't share this with anyone just yet.  
**/Chloe**: Fine, but if you get something please let me know.  
**/Hal**: Fine. Can you send them now?  
**/Chloe**: Fine.

She hit several keys and sent the files back to Hal, then closed the connection and saved all of her work to her home laptop. She wasn't sure if she should tell Tony or not about this, so she resolved to tell him if Hal didn't send her anything within a week.

-End Ch. 7-

_Author's Notes:_

-So a Snake oriented chapter, sorta.  
-As for the mysterious guys, you'll see them later on. I decided to expand the scope somewhat since I got inspired by a few fics I read while writing this chapter.  
-Next chapter we're going to go back to Ryu  
-Oh and if possible I'd like some feedback on my inclusion of 24. I'm not too sure about really huge crossovers so I might limit it just to a few cameos or I can actually include Jack but I'm not sure yet. And as a sub-note this is 24 as it was between seasons 2 and 3.


	9. Suspicions

_**Metal Gear Ryu**_

_Summary: Metal Gear Ryu is a crossover between Harry Potter and Metal Gear Solid set as an alternative to the events of Book 6. While searching for the Metal Gear, Ryu and Philanthropy found Hogwarts and more questions. In order to find more information, Ryu remained as a student while Snake, Raiden, and Otacon followed up other leads. However, new players have shown their own determination to find the Metal Gear._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Metal Gear Solid or 24 for that matter._

_Italicized text means dialogue over nano-communication. This is communication done via nano-machines inside of a person's bloodstream.  
A backslash before the name of a person talking signifies communication done via instant messaging._****

* * *

**_ Ch8: Suspicions_**

_London, United Kingdom  
11:34 PM, October 25th 2003_

Despite the late hour, too many people were still in the bar. Or so he thought, at least. He was sitting in one of the tables near the door where the music wasn't nearly as loud. Most of the people were on the dance floor or at the bar talking idly and drinking. Some of them were smoking. He just sat there and worked on his laptop. His strike team was going to call him soon and he was getting impatient.

Pausing work for a second, he reclined in the leather seat. He picked up the glass with scotch next to him and took a sip from it. His watch showed 11:35, they were twenty minutes late with the report. Finally, he felt something twinge in his pocket. He reached into his black jeans and pulled out his cell phone to check who it was.

"Yes?"

"Commander?" the voice was of his subordinate.

"It's about time Captain, what is your report." He said sternly.

"My apologies, there was an unexpected occurrence."

He raised his eyebrow, "Really? Tell me about it."

"Sir. There was another party that tried to infiltrate the building in sync with out assault. There were three men total. Two have substantial combat experience, while the third appears to have a high level of computer knowledge."

He took another sip from his glass, this was getting interesting. "Did you kill them?"

"No, as we were not sure of their role in all of this. Under my authority I had some of my men observe them."

"And?"

"They seem to be some sort of renegade group, we're running traces on their identities now. Their accents indicate that they are not British, possibly American. They do seem to know of magic, but are not familiar with neither the basic spells nor the Death Eater mark. I also suspect they do not know of the intended nature of the Metal Gear."

"I see. Did they find anything?"

"I'm ashamed to say sir, that they were able to locate one of our detonators as well as extract some data from one of the servers that was merely partially damaged."

He frowned, "Rafael, that was very sloppy of you. Under these circumstances I will not mete out any punishment, but I do implore you to be more thorough next time. Fortunately, I think these events will prove an asset and not a hindrance. You have them under surveillance I hope?"

"Yes sir, and my deepest apologies for my error." The man called Rafael said.

"Did you make sure to plant the sign?"

"Yes sir, the ministry will assume it was a Death Eater attack and will try their best to cover it up."

"Very well, keep me informed." He closed the phone and replaced it in his pocket. After another sip he got up and crossed the room to get to the bathroom.

It was much brighter inside with the fluorescent lighting. The bathroom was covered with blue marble while the sinks were black. He walked up to one of them and turned the silver knob and watched the water flow out of it for a second. Then he took some and splashed it over his face and looked in the mirror. It showed signs of fatigue, there were bruises under his cerulean-coloured eyes, and his hair was messily combed. Although it is normally a bright red color, he usually dyed it a deep brown to make sure it wouldn't stand out as much. Now some of the red was showing through. There was still work for him to do, and the Metal Gear wasn't going to find itself.

_Hogwarts, Scotland  
8:43 AM, October 26th 2003_

Ryu was slowly walking down the staircase from his room. He had left the dormitory after everyone else had to make sure no one bothered to ask him a bunch of questions. Last night he managed to slip by unnoticed thankfully, and his general plan was to keep doing the same. He was slightly hungry, having skipped dinner yesterday, and tired from setting up and testing all of his equipment.

He was dressed in robes and a full uniform, which annoyed him since he couldn't hide any large weapons. He still had a gun on him, as well as his knife; he carried both habitually. The school, for the most part, still felt huge for him since he hadn't really explored it yet and was forced to rely on the maps he had, thankfully he had them on his PDA.

Finally he descended to the main level and found his way to the Great Hall. By that time it was crowded with students all talking incessantly and loudly. Somewhat unaccustomed to the noise he walked in slowly observing each of the four tables. None of the students seemed to notice him, unlike his previous entrance. He also looked up at the other side of the room to find the faculty eating as well. He noticed Dumbledore who was at the center of the group, on his flank was the giant Hagrid, and to his other side was the Professor Ryu had managed to knock out before, Snape. They quickly met each other's gaze and just as quickly broke it.

Looking at the four tables he noticed that the uniforms in each table represented each house, so he was to find his own. After passing the first two he finally recognized the blue colors of Ravenclaw, and looked for a seat.

The table was set beautifully, with plenty of food ranging from eggs to oatmeal to cereal. Although he didn't want to admit it, he was quite anxious to finally get a good bite to eat; that is as soon as he found himself a place to sit.

"Excuse me?" Ryu looked behind him to see who was talking. It was a young girl, with short light brown hair. She was pleasantly smiling at him, which somewhat confused Ryu. "Are you looking for a seat?"

Ryu paused for a moment, debating whether or not he should really talk to her. His hunger convinced him. "Yeah I am. I guess I slept in a bit."

She laughed, "You can sit with us if you'd like."

Again Ryu paused to think, and again his hunger won him over. "Sure, thanks." He mumbled and set down next to her. He patiently, and slowly, got his plate and placed food on it. He didn't want to seem too out of place, so he observed and controlled every move he made.

"I'm Melanie." He heard her voice again. He paused and turned toward her. She was still smiling, which made Ryu somewhat uncomfortable.

"My name is Ryu." He said. His body wanted to tense reflexively, but he tried to calm it down.

"You're new here, aren't you? Professor Flitwick said we'd have a new student joining us as a transfer from America."

Debating for a few moments about what to say, he finally answered, "Yeah, My parents just moved here, and it so happens that Dumbledore knew about it, so I was allowed to enroll for the year." He hoped that would satisfy her, it didn't.

"Wow, that's pretty cool. If you want, I'll show you around Hogwarts sometime."

"No thanks." Ryu declined. "I've got most of it figured out already." And he didn't want someone wondering what the hell he was doing. She seemed a bit dejected by his refusal, and she returned to eating her food. Ryu did the same.

After he managed to eat peacefully for a while, then he was interrupted again. A huge flock of owls suddenly flew into the room, which startled him. Again, he tensed, and this time his hand moved toward where his gun was. His tension was broken when he heard the girl giggle.

"Guess they didn't do this in your previous school?" Ryu swore silently and filed a mental note not to be so tense next time.

"No, we had something called e-mail." He lied.

"E-mail?" she said with a questioning look on her face.

Of course, Ryu thought, she wouldn't know what that is.

"By the way, these are my friends." He looked over at the girls Melanie had been talking about. "This is Kim," she pointed to the girl next to her. "That is Marietta," Ryu looked over at the strawberry blonde next to Kim. Next to her was another girl, whose face Ryu somewhat recognized. "The one on her right is Cho." Melanie finished.

Cho, he heard that name before. During his previous 'visit' wasn't it what they were screaming? Ryu looked over at the girl. Unlike her three friends, she was silent, and kept to herself. There were still several bandages on her left arm. No mistaking it, she was the girl Ryu had tried to save two days ago. He looked over at Melanie. "Is she ok?"

She answered in a lowered tone, "She's had a rough time. Her boyfriend died two years ago." She looked down, her face saddened, "The Dark Lord killed him. She hasn't been the same ever since. On top of that just two days ago, that stupid Troll almost killed her."

"I heard about that." Ryu replied. "She recovered pretty fast."

"Thankfully she wasn't hurt too much. Madam Pomfrey wanted to keep her in the hospital wing for at least a week, but Cho insisted that she needed to keep up in her classes."

Ryu nodded, and looked down at his plate.

"But it's amazing really." She continued. "Nobody knows who it was who saved her, some people even think it was a muggle."

Again, Ryu nodded and continued eating. He looked up and noticed that the girl, Kim, was reading a newspaper, _The Daily Prophet._ Ryu read one of the headlines. It seemed interesting, a 'Death Eater' attack. As he was trying to read, the girl put her spoon down and folded the newspaper. As she was getting up Melanie stopped her.

"Have you and Alex talked?"

"Not really. To be honest I don't know what's going through his mind right now." Kim replied.

"You should really talk to him." Melanie began. "I think,"

"Sorry to interrupt," Ryu cut in, "but can I read the paper if you're done with it?"

Kim nodded and handed it to him. "I would but, I don't think he really want to…"

Ryu tuned out their conversation and began reading the front page. The story was mostly about how the Ministry of Magic managed to let another attack happen. There were criticisms about loss of muggle life, property damage. Most of it fairly dull, it wasn't until Ryu noticed the location, Leon Defense Corporation, that he got interested. It caught his eye because it was where Snake said he'd check last night. A part of Ryu got worried and wanted to contact Snake to make sure he was ok. Looking at his watch, he noticed that his first class was going to start soon. Unfortunately, he didn't have enough time to actually go back to his room so he decided to do it after class. He folded the paper and placed it in his bag, which was mostly empty except for a few school materials. As he did, he noticed that people had begun to get up and make their way to their classes.

"It was nice meeting you." Ryu said quickly to Melanie as he folded the paper and picked his bag up. His first class was Charms, whatever that was about. She smiled and got up too. As Ryu was making his way out of the hall, he noticed Cho in the crowd. He wasn't sure exactly why, but he wanted to say something. It was _his_ flashbang that caused the monster to pick her up after all. As he walked up alongside her he managed to say the first words in his head. "I Hope you'll get better soon."

He noticed that she looked up to see who said that, but by that time Ryu had slipped away into the crowd. Still uneasy, he put some distance between him and the rest of the Ravenclaws he just met. He tried to calm the various thoughts in his head by focusing on what he had to do today, which included figuring out what was going on. Remembering the words of a song he liked, he said them quietly in Russian.

"Что споется мне сегодня, что услышится?" (What will be sung to me today, what will I hear?)

With that he made his way to the Charms classroom.

_Hogwarts, Scotland  
9:25 AM, October 26th 2003_

He wasn't sure how much more boring this class could get. Flitwick, was not something he had expected in a teacher. He was quite old, with a huge beard and silvery-grey hair. He was also very short. His stature took much authority away from him, and Ryu nearly burst out when the tiny teacher started to talk. The lecture was boring; they were learning how to cast spells without an incantation, which required a lengthy explanation of what incantations really were. Ryu merely looked outside and watched the various birds fly around the window. He wasn't interested in learning anything really; he was more focused on the article he had read. Death Eaters, he heard people talking about them and the attack, but according to them the Death Eaters were servants of a Dark Lord, which Ryu assumed was Voldemort. So, what would they, and most importantly, Voldemort want with the Leon Defense Corp?

"Now, today we will practice the summoning charm." Ryu snapped out of his trance and looked over at his teacher. "Now, the normal summoning charm requires the _Accio_ incantation as well as the name of the object. In order to cast this without the incantation you will have to focus very hard on the object so that when you wave the wand you will see it coming to you in your mind's eye."

As a demonstration he pointed his wand to one of the golden orbs lying on the floor, he flicked his wand and the ball flew into his hand. Once again, Ryu saw some kind of light mist extending from the wand to the orb. It annoyed him. "Now then, why not have one of you try it? Any volunteers?" Several hands shot up. "How about, Cho?" Ryu looked over at her, she didn't have her hand up, and she seemed lost in thought. She looked up at the professor and nodded.

Slowly she got up, went to the center of the room, and took out her wand. Just as the professor had before her, she waved it. Nothing happened, however. She sighed dejectedly and began to turn around. "It's the first time, try focusing on the object harder and make the motion more crisp." She stopped and nodded. Then she looked down at the orb, and followed the motion with her wand. This time the ball lifted off from the ground and flew several inches before falling. "Good job, miss Chang." He said with a smile, she nodded quickly and walked back to her seat. "Any other volunteers?"

Ryu felt something hit him. He turned around and saw a rolled up paper ball on the ground. He also saw Melanie smirking. Irritated, he turned around. "Why don't we have Ryu try it?" hearing his name, he turned again. The girl, Marietta, was looking at him. Ryu scowled, he didn't want to do it. Unfortunately, several members of the class voiced their approval.

Ryu looked up at Flitwick who seemed to be thinking. "Why not, I suppose it won't harm anyone." He finally said. Ryu groaned and pulled out the wand from his pocket. As he walked to the front, he was debating whether or not to throw one of those orbs at that girl. Ryu stood in the center, holding the wand in his hand. The motions were simple, a sharp upwards motion followed by a sharp downwards one, in the shape of a Russian L. (Which looks like an upside-down V.)

He looked over at the sphere, what a stupid thing to be summoning. If he could, Ryu mused, he should summon Snake so he can talk with him, or better yet, the Metal Gear itself. "Here goes." He made both motions in rapid succession thinking nothing would happen, but suddenly he felt warmth in his hand. And he saw the mist flow out.

He heard several gasps, and a scream. And within seconds he felt something very heavy hit him, and pin him to the ground. He turned his head so he could see what it was and within seconds he found himself in a position that felt oddly familiar. His eyes were literally a few centimeters away from Cho's. It gave a new meaning to the term face-to-face. She seemed shocked, and somewhat frightened. After a few seconds, she finally scrambled to get up. "Sorry." Ryu muttered while trying to get up as well.

"It's ok." She said very quietly and quickly made her way back to her desk. Ryu heard several chuckles, a whistle, some people asked Cho if she was ok, and some murmured. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her sit down, she looked as if someone threw her into a freezing-cold pool and she just got out. He, he didn't know what he was at the moment. Rather than worrying, he tried not to think about it. Flitwick settled the class down and it resumed with a bigger focus on demonstrations rather than practice.

After class Ryu, quickly left the room. He had some time before he had to go to the next class so in the meantime he could contact Snake. He was on his way to the staircase when he heard a loud voice. "So tell me, did you screw up the charm, or did you summon Cho on purpose?" Ryu turned around to see one of his classmates. A young blonde boy, very tan, tall, and fairly well built. He was smirking, and some people were laughing at his question. It reminded Ryu of the times Rai would joke about him and Sakura. Rai, now there were some unpleasant memories.

Although it was tempting to break that idiot's arm, Ryu decided against it. He had to talk to Snake. Ignoring the comments, he turned around and resumed walking toward the tower. Behind him, he heard the guy trying to follow him. Again Ryu tried to resist the urge to punch him in the face. The guy finally caught up and said in a quieter tone, "Well if you won't tell me about her, why don't you tell me what you were doing here two days ago?" Ryu stopped instantly, his mind suddenly cleared. His expression shifted from mild annoyance to complete seriousness. His thoughts focused on how to silence that guy if need be.

"How did you," Ryu began.

"Believe it or not, I know a lot of things about muggle technology, especially regarding the military. When I saw you throw that flashbang, I instinctively looked away. I also saw you do all that fancy running, jumping, and shooting. Now I got curious, turns out someone had knocked out Harry Potter and Professor Snape that day too. Most people think that that person had something to do with the troll. But I personally don't. You wouldn't use a gun if you did. So, spill."

Ryu nodded, "How many people know?"

"I doubt anyone does, honestly. Except the teachers, I saw the looks they gave you."

Ryu looked over him, "Believe me when I say: stay out of this or there will be a lot of pain in your future."

As he was walking away he felt a hand touch his shoulders, "You're going to need help. Maybe no one knows about the incident, but everyone knows you're out of place. And if you keep up these stunts, people will start asking questions and put two and two together. Now look, I know a lot about Hogwarts and a lot about the wizarding world, I can help you out here."

"And what's in it for you?"

He smirked, "Hey, it's not every day I see someone pull the stunts you did. I want to know what the hell is going on."

Ryu nodded, he knew too much, might as well see if he could prove useful. "Come with me." Ryu began walking off.

"My name is Gabe by the way. Gabriel Ashe."

"I'm Ryu."

-End Ch. 8-

_Author's Notes:_

-So Vaporeon-Chan, here is some Harry Potter-ness to tide you over for now. Although I originally intended the story to focus more on Hogwarts, now it will be somewhat split up. But the next few chapters will have more Hogwarts in them.  
-The summoning charm scene is one of the few scenes I had in mind while starting the story.-In the books, Cho always had a bunch of friends with her and the only named one was Marietta so I added Melanie and Kim but I doubt they'll play any serious role in the story.  
-Also I'm wondering if anyone noticed that the introduction has changed.


	10. Explanation

_**Metal Gear Ryu**_

_Summary: Metal Gear Ryu is a crossover between Harry Potter and Metal Gear Solid set as an alternative to the events of Book 6. While searching for the Metal Gear, Ryu and Philanthropy found Hogwarts and more questions. In order to find more information, Ryu remained as a student while Snake, Raiden, and Otacon followed up other leads. However, new players have shown their own determination to find the Metal Gear._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Metal Gear Solid or 24 for that matter._

_Italicized text means dialogue over nano-communication. This is communication done via nano-machines inside of a person's bloodstream.  
A backslash before the name of a person talking signifies communication done via instant messaging._

_**Ch9: Explanation  
**_

* * *

_Hogwarts, Scotland  
12:01 PM, October 26th 2003_

They had entered Ryu's private room. It was cool, and fairly lonely. There were several beds as the room was made to accommodate more than one student, but currently Ryu was the only resident. The room was mostly gray from the stone but with several blue tapestries hanging on the walls each containing elaborate patterns of silver woven in. The beds were also a light powder-blue color. One of them was left unmade with the bed sheet messily sprawled across the bed. Another bed had a bag slumped on it with several gadgets sitting next to it.

Gabe looked around the room; it had no decorations or personal touches. "Nice place you got here." He said trying to lighten the mood but it seemed to have no effect on Ryu who merely went to the bag lying on the other bed and pulled out a laptop.

"There's something I need to do first." Without looking at Gabe, Ryu booted his computer and logged in with a few short keystrokes.

Gabe peered over Ryu's shoulder at the blue screen, "I thought muggle technology wouldn't work here since there is magic interference."

"If it interferes with electricity then it's electromagnetic in nature. So in order to allow my laptop to work, I just shielded the circuitry. It's the same principle as anti-EMP measures." Ryu said while typing commands on the prompt in front of him. After a few more minutes of going through various connection procedures he managed to set up a direct connection to Otacon's terminal. The communication was in essence done by codec and the laptop relayed the info. It took some time to configure the connection so that it won't be destroyed by magic interference.

_**Ryu**: Otacon?_

There was static. Ryu sighed and pulled up the console so he could configure the frequency. Otacon had said that there was a possibility Ryu would need to find a new frequency with less interference. After some tuning the static died down and Ryu tried again.

_**Ryu**: Otacon?  
**Otacon**: Ryu? Is the connection working?  
**Ryu**: Seems that way. Is everyone all right?  
**Otacon**: Yeah we're fine.  
**Snake**: Ryu, this is Snake. Did you manage to settle in?  
**Ryu**: Yes, there haven't been any significant problems yet.  
**Snake**: Good.  
**Ryu**: More importantly, what happened during your mission?  
**Snake**: Right, about that. We managed to get into the building, but apparently another group managed to enter at the same time. They got to the servers before us and destroyed most of the data.  
**Ryu**: Did you find anything?  
**Otacon**: Sadly not much. We did pull up parts of an OS which could possibly be used for the Metal Gear. Also, we found a detonator used by the other group, but here's the weird thing. They might have actually used magic to get into the building and take out security. We have one clue though, we found a mark in the server room, we'll upload the pictures now._

The computer hummed and suddenly a window popped up showing the same green skull and serpent he had seen in the paper earlier on. Also several more files were uploaded with pictures of dead guards and the destruction in the server room.

"Where'd you take those?" Ryu turned around to see Gabe sitting patiently and looking at the screen of Ryu's laptop.

"The building that was attacked. It was in the paper. My friends were inside at that time." Ryu responded.

_**Snake**: Who is that?_

Ryu paused and thought for a moment, there was a speaker built in. They could hear Gabe even if he couldn't hear them. After a few moments he answered.

_**Ryu**: Gabe, he's my 'guide' for this school.  
**Snake**: Do you trust him?  
**Ryu**: No, but he is very observant and he managed to figure my presence here out. Hopefully I can learn more about this school through him, however.  
**Snake**: All right._

Ryu looked around the bed. It was a mess with several gadgets lying all over the sheet. Eventually he actually found it, a small white headset. "Put this on." He offered to Gabe.

"What's it for?"

"So you can hear the conversation. Put it on."

Gabe managed to fit the headset over his ear. "Ok, now what?"

_**Otacon**: Can you hear me?  
**Gabe**: Yeah. Who,  
**Snake**: It doesn't matter.  
**Ryu**: I'll explain later. Anyway, as you were saying.  
**Gabe**: That mark, it's normally used by the Death Eaters after a successful attack.  
**Snake**: But?  
**Gabe**: Did they just destroy that one room and left the building intact?  
**Snake**: Yes, it was carried out very quickly. We didn't even have a chance to see them._

Ryu was scrolling through some of the pictures. When he arrived at the ones taken in the server room, Gabe spoke up.

_**Gabe**: These weren't destroyed by magic.  
**Otacon**: We already figured that out, we found a detonator and we're running a back trace on it now. Nothing's come up so far.  
**Gabe**: This doesn't seem like the Death Eaters at all.  
**Snake**: What do you mean?  
**Gabe**: They're Voldemort's followers, and Voldemort hates everything muggle; technology, weapons, and muggles themselves. Death Eaters tend to make their presence known and take their time in torturing and killing. It isn't their style to make such limited attacks, let alone use muggle methods. They like to show everyone their superiority.  
**Snake**: So you're saying it wasn't the Death Eaters?  
**Gabe**: I can't be certain, but it does look that way.  
**Snake**: So that mark?  
**Ryu**: Probably planted there, what better way to throw someone of their trail?  
**Snake**: This complicates matters. We need to analyze what we recovered; I'll leave your end to you.  
**Ryu**: Watch your back Snake.  
**Snake**: You too kid._

Gabe took off his earpiece. He seemed somewhat unnerved; there was also a hint of bitterness in his voice. Ryu looked over him carefully. His eyes were still looking over the pictures on the screen; one of them was of the staircase with several of the personnel lying across it. He blinked several times. "_Avada Kedavra._"

"What?"

Gabe looked up from the screen. "These guards were killed by a curse known as the _Avada Kedavra._ The killing curse." Between every word there was a slight hint of anger seeping through.

Ryu wondered what to say. Killing, while not via magical means, was quite familiar to him. "You seem too affected by it." He said, closing the picture files.

Ryu looked over at him. "Cho, we used to be pretty good friends, you know. I even fancied her a bit. But I was happy that she and Cedric got together. They made a good couple" He looked up at the ceiling as if he was remembering something. "That curse is what killed him. It's hard to forget the look on her face." With a sigh he looked over at the blank screen. "I guess it's not often that I've seen people die like that. This is what it must have been like last time he was in power."

"They don't teach it here, do they?" Ryu said calmly.

"What, the _Avada Kedavra?_ No chance!" Gabe was looking at Ryu's face with surprise, as if asking that question itself was ridiculous. "It's called an unforgivable curse, using it on another human is considered to be one of the worst crimes in the wizarding world."

Without changing his expression, Ryu replied. "I've never heard of a war, that someone won with kindness." He got up and began to pack up his laptop.

Gabe sat there for a while, thinking of how to respond. Finally, realizing why he came there in the first place, he managed to bring himself out of his thoughts, "So, wait, you still have to tell me what's going on."

Ryu finished up with the laptop and then paused. After a few seconds he nodded, "All right." He picked up a large portfolio and took out a small folder. He opened it and thumbed through the contents. Then he closed it and handed it to Gabe.

Gabe took the folder and started reading the papers inside. "Project Pegasus?"

"Know anything about it?" Ryu said.

"Only what I hear on the news." Gabe continued listing through the files they had. For the most part he didn't seem to care as that information was probably uninteresting to him. After a couple of pages he came to a stop, however. His face showed some interest, and he looked like he was reading the page over several times. He began to look even more focused on the material; he shuffled through the pages quickly as if he was getting to the good part of a novel. He had to find out what happened next. Finally, he stopped, mid page. His eyes were fixed on something written there. "Bloody," he said quietly. He found it, Ryu thought. "Is this, a joke?" He asked looking up from the file.

"Do you think I'd be here if it was?" Ryu said dryly. Gabe stared at Ryu, who looked somewhat irritated. "All the information in that folder is true."

Gabe put it down on the bed. "So, there's a Metal Gear at Hogwarts?"

"Possibly."

"Do the teachers know?"

"Of course. How else could I be here?"

Gabe looked down on the ground. A Metal Gear at Hogwarts. Voldemort was scary, yes, but wizards lived behind their veil for too long to know what horror humans had developed. Even with all his magic, Voldemort could not rival the sheer power of nuclear weapons. Gabe looked up at Ryu, "You'll definitely need my help."

His stare was returned by one from Ryu's cool-gray eyes. He nodded, and grabbed his duffel bag with his school supplies. As he was walking past Gabe he stopped, "Keep this between the two of us." Then he continued to walk to the door. Gabe also grabbed his things from the bed and followed Ryu. Without saying a word, they left the room, and let the door slam shut behind them.

_Los Angeles, United States  
6:32 AM, October 26th 2003_

There was a silent movement in his pocket from the vibrations of his phone. "Do you have the info?"

A female voice came from the other end, "I have the satellite data. I'm transmitting the infrared positions now."

"Thanks Chloe."

"Be careful Chase." Chase Edmunds closed his phone and put it in his pocket. He leaned over and looked at his partner. He seemed to have gotten Chloe's data and was studying it on the PDA.

They were in a relatively peaceful neighborhood, so there was no need for more than two men. Dawn was slowly breaking giving them enough visibility without sacrificing the stealth of shadows. Their target building was several feet away, a 2-story pale-blue house sitting at the corner of the street. It had a large front lawn, well groomed, and very flat making the front door approach riskier. The front door, despite it's appearance, was actually reinforced, requiring them to somehow hack their way in. Inside was a man they were trying to get a hold of. Nicholas Fierro, age 49, MIT alumni and defense contractor who was recently hired by OMN Tech. OMN kept it's operations very well guarded so finding any regular employees was quite impossible, even finding Fierro was a difficult task. But now they had something to go on. The only reason they cared about OMN was that there was evidence of their involvement with the deaths of the agents CTU was investigating.

"There are at least 4 guards. Two on each floor." Chase heard a silent click of a magazine being loaded in. "We're going in fast and hard, make sure you get Fierro alive." Chase nodded.

They left from the cover of the nearby building and began walking toward Fierro's house. They were walking briskly, but not enough as to attract attention to themselves. Chase's profile would seem uninteresting for a passerby. Tall white male with very short dark colored hair, Chase was wearing a white unbuttoned shirt and a pair of jeans. From the side he seemed like someone from the neighborhood. His partner, on the other hand, was a different story.

While somewhat shorter than Chase, he was well built with his face showing signs of experience and weariness. Between the blonde messy hair and the unkempt clothing you wouldn't think this guy was important, but his movements were sharp and forceful which gave his presence away.

After finally arriving at the door, Chase looked as his partner rummaged around in his pockets. He finally produced a small keycard, which he then swiped through the electronic lock on the door. There was a click as the door opened.

Chase pulled out his gun, "Ready Jack?" He nodded and kicked the door in.

Gun drawn he roared at the two guards who seemed to have been asleep and were suddenly awakened by their entrance. "Federal Agents! Drop your weapons!" They stumbled a bit, but then they started to reach for their guns. Big mistake, Jack fired off several shots and both of the guards were on the ground in seconds. "There are two more upstairs." He barked and began jogging toward the staircase.

As he was climbing up those stairs Jack was surprised he didn't hear anyone yell, or run, or shoot at him. At the top of the stairs he realized why. Both of the guards on the second floor were dead. He heard Chase catch up to him.

"Jack, what's going on?"

Jack reached started walking toward the door to Fierro's bedroom. "This doesn't make any sense. Why would the guards upstairs be dead and the ones downstairs alive?"

Chase was leaning over one of the dead guards. "No gunshot wounds, no strangulation marks. What did this?"

Jack tore the door to Fierro's bedroom wide open. His gun trained on the bed, he found Fierro lying there, his face showing an expression of surprise, and possibly pain. On his stomach was a large blood stain, a sword wound. Jack put his gun away. "Fierro's dead. Looks like someone stabbed him."

"Jack!" He heard Chase yell from the nearby room. Jack walked over to Fierro's office. It was a mess; most of his things were lying broken all over the floor. His papers were shredded or torn and littered like confetti around the room. Chase was sitting on the chair trying to boot Fierro's PC. "His computer is completely messed up; I can't get anything from it." It looked pretty bad, its case was destroyed and from the looks of it so were it's internals.

"Is there anything we can bring back to analyze?"

"Maybe the hard drive, I don't know."

Jack took out his cell phone and speed-dialed Tony's number. "Tony it's Jack. Fierro's dead. Someone got to him before us and killed him. On top of that, they managed to go through his office and destroyed most of the evidence."

"Damn it! Do you have any idea who did it?"

"No, their attack pattern doesn't make any sense. The guards on the top floor were killed, and Fierro was stabbed, possibly with a sword. The guards on the lower floor were still alive and they seemed asleep when we got here."

"All right, I'll send a forensics team to check the building. Is there anything we can use right now?"

Jack looked over at Chase who was messing around with the PCs case. After a few moments he finally managed to take out the computer's hard drive. "Tell Tony we might still be able to use this. It looks fairly intact."

Jack nodded. "Chase says we can still pull some data from the hard drive."

"All right, bring it over here as soon as you can."

_Los Angeles, United States  
6:50 AM, October 26th 2003_

After a few adjustments to her computer, Chloe started seeing some results as strings of code began scrolling on her screen. "Most of the data was destroyed. But it looks like some of it was stored in such a way that it would still be recovered if the right password was given."

"Is there any way you can figure the password out?" Tony asked her.

"That all depends on the encryption. This one doesn't look like it's in any of our databases. Hang on, I'll check with the NSA."

"Is there any chance we can improvise a decryption program?" Tony seemed impatient.

"We could, but I would need more data to get a pattern going."

"Damn it Chloe, is there anything we _can_ do?"

"It's not my fault. This hard drive is pretty much destroyed. I'm going to need more to work with if you want to decrypt these."

"Fierro was our only lead. Don't tell me our only options are to just randomly poke in the dark and see if we get anything?"

"Well," she hesitated. With a few clicks she opened up the program she used to decode Hal's files yesterday. "I can try using the one I made a while ago. But it will only work if they're similar and I will still need to reconfigure it. So I guess it's still a long shot."

"Do it."

Chloe opened up her program and started it up. After a few minutes, it displayed her results. "I don't believe this."

"Did it work?" Tony was staring from behind her shoulder, she hated that.

"Yes, but I didn't make any adjustments, it's the same cipher."

"You mean you've seen this code before?"

Chloe started realizing that she shouldn't have said anything. "Well yes but,"

Tony interrupted her, "Where?" She hesitated. She promised Hal she wouldn't tell anyone until he figured more out. "Damn it Chloe where did you see this?"

**6:59:57**

**6:59:58**

**6:59:59**

**7:00:00**

-End Ch. 9-

_Author's Notes:_

-Whoo, 1000 hits, thanks guys.  
-So, just to answer some reviews. Ryu is definitely going to be grounded in the Metal Gear series, but he will have some magic techniques similarly how say FOXHOUND and Dead Cell had their own unique talents.  
-And yeah, 24 is going to be a part of the storyline (although I'm not always going to do a countdown)  
-So to answer Edward's question, yes Jack is going to be in the storyline. Sam, probably not. I do have plans for a few minor cameos from other shows but I don't think there will be any more crossovers.  
-Ocelot, will eventually appear. But at this moment, I don't know how to write him in.


	11. Interlude: Training

_**Metal Gear Ryu**_

_Summary: Metal Gear Ryu is a crossover between Harry Potter and Metal Gear Solid set as an alternative to the events of Book 6. While searching for the Metal Gear, Ryu and Philanthropy found Hogwarts and more questions. In order to find more information, Ryu remained as a student while Snake, Raiden, and Otacon followed up other leads. However, new players have shown their own determination to find the Metal Gear._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Metal Gear Solid or 24 for that matter._

_Italicized text means dialogue over nano-communication. This is communication done via nano-machines inside of a person's bloodstream.  
A backslash before the name of a person talking signifies communication done via instant messaging.  
_

* * *

**_Interlude: Training_**

_Prison Facility 'T'ma', Russia  
1:22 AM, February 13th, 1996_

They had been waiting in the snow for at least 9 hours. Ryu wasn't even sure if he could feel his feet anymore. This was one of their routine training assignments. In the dead of night, they were going to stop a 'prison break.' A female voice came over his codec.

_**Solitaire**: It's begun, they're moving.  
**Ryu**: I see two of them. Yellow and Indigo are setting up positions at the north wall.  
**Kai**: We're set up at the eastern exit and holding. Solitaire I'll let you give the go order.  
**Kage**: I'm ready to move as well.  
**Solitaire**: Give me a second…Red, Green, Silver, and Orange will probably try to rush out from the South. They're not working with Blue, Yellow, or Indigo. I think they're two separate groups. Yellow's group will go down to the basement to check for additional supplies. Red's will be out the door in 10 minutes. Kai, start your approach. Kage, get inside and try to take out the remaining three._

The plan of attack had been set up. Ryu exhaled and watched his breath turn into a white smoke. The prisoners wouldn't get the chance to get outside at this rate. Kage, Rai, Sakura, and Kai would finish them off fast enough. Ryu relaxed and took his sight away from the scope of his Dragunov.

This was almost the 20th time they had done this exercise. The point was to simulate real combat as accurately as possible, including the dangers of dying and the need to kill. The exercises took place in secluded prison facilities. Prisoners that were unruly, loud, or simply unwanted were transferred there. On certain days, security was 'extra' lax so as to give them the opportunity to escape. They were then given carte blanche access to the weapons and ammo stocks supplied to them. The guards, unaware of this staged escape, were usually caught off guard and brutally killed. While Ryu's team was asked to rescue as many guards as possible sometimes, usually the main objective was to kill the prisoners. Of course due to the nature of the prisoners, their objectives differed from time to time. Sometimes they just had to hunt down a few people in the woods. Sometimes they had to infiltrate the facility and secure it. Sometimes they even dealt with hostage conditions.

Ryu relaxed his grip and quietly got up from the snow. He saw his outline on the ground where he had been lying and quietly tried to shift the snow around to make it less obvious. He slung the rifle over his back and took out a chocolate bar and began eating it. A few meters north of his position was Solitaire, while Ryu could have engaged with the others, he was usually given the job of a lookout/sniper and sometimes was used to make sure no one got close enough for Solitaire to fight. Kage was somewhat resentful that Solitaire's safety was in Ryu's hands, but his job was infiltration so he had no choice really.

_**Kai**: Engaging the Red's team._

The first few training missions they went on they tried to give the prisoners some unique codenames like 'flash' and 'diva' but at some point they settled in to using colors, numbers, or names of countries.

Cracks of gunfire broke out. There were sharp, quick, bursts which sounded like a lighting strike. Those came from Kai's team. Then there were long extended ones which sounded like a lot of fireworks going off. Those came from the enemy guns. Ryu looked up at the sky; above the pines was a beautiful crescent moon.

_**Kage**: Yellow is down. Proceeding to take out Indigo._

Ryu rolled the wrapper up into a ball and put it in his pocket. He stood straight, his silhouette outlined by the sharp moonlight. He stretched a little to get the blood circulating in his body so he could warm up. The gunfire began to subside; rather than a continuous stream of cracks, only a couple could be heard in the distance separated by pauses of silence.

_**Rai**: We've handled our guys. Kai got a little torn up trying to take one of them down but it looks like we're good.  
**Kage**: Indigo's dead. I can't find Blue anywhere however.  
**Kai**: Kage, are you sure?  
**Kage**: I'm in the basement right now and he's not here._

Ryu paused. His muscles tingled. He felt adrenaline churning in his body and a wave of fearful alertness overtook his serene state of mind. In previous missions their assaults were messy, but they always managed to kill all of the hostiles. This was bad, for two reasons. One, it would extend their mission while Kai tried to secure the building. Two, it presented the possibility that the prisoner escaped.

_**Kai**: Solitaire, are you _sure_ that Blue went into the basement.  
**Solitaire**: I was. I can't be certain now.  
**Kai**: What do you mean?  
**Solitaire**: Well, after you guys went in I couldn't see anything clearly anymore. Too many possible outcomes. It will take some time before I can tell anything for certain.  
**Kai**: All right. Rai, go watch over the Southern exit. Kage, take the eastern one. Sakura and I will sweep. Ryu, keep watch from outside._

The codec closed and Ryu was left in the silence of the forest. He sharpened his senses trying his best to see or hear any signs of the enemy. He reached for his holster and drew his Makarov pistol. Taking slow, steady steps Ryu began walking toward the cover of the nearby trees and letting their shadows hide his presence. He searched the darkness for any traces of movement. He felt the soft snow crunch softly with every footstep he took.

_**Kai**: The first quadrant is secure. Solitaire, anything?  
**Solitaire**: I don't think he's inside anymore.  
**Kai**: What?  
**Solitaire**: The basement, there's a sewage tunnel leading outside. I think he escaped through there during the firefight.  
**Kai**: Damn it! Can you tell us where he went at least?  
**Solitaire**: No, I'm sorry.  
**Kai**: Kage, go find out where the tunnel leads. Sakura go with Rai and finish clearing the building. I'm going outside see if I can find any footsteps, Ryu you do the same._

Easy for him to say. After a few minutes of quietly sneaking around the forest Ryu saw some sort of quick motion in the shadows. Instantly Ryu trained his Makarov toward the location. His brain pulsed while trying to make out the difference between the rustling of leaves and the movement of an enemy. He crouched to diminish his silhouette and with deliberate steps advanced. As he tried to discern his surroundings, he lost track of how far he had moved from his initial position.

Ryu's concentration was broken when he heard a pistol shot. Another followed soon after resonating through the forest. Ryu saw the muzzle flashes out of the corner of his eye, and trained his Makarov in that direction. What were they shooting at? Then it hit him.

"SOLITAIRE!" He screamed out and fired several shots in that direction. He aimed high to avoid hitting her on accident. They were replied with a few more shots from the opposite direction. All were wild, but Ryu managed to determine his opponent's location by the muzzle flashes. Desperately he opened his codec while focusing his eyes in the darkness.

_**Kai**: What was that?  
**Ryu**: Solitaire! Answer me!_

There was silence. Then the codec began buzzing with chatter.

_**Kai**: Solitaire? Solitaire, answer me. Ryu, what the hell is going on?  
**Kage**: Solitaire! Solitaire what's going on?  
**Kai**: Ryu, what's your status?  
**Sakura**: Ryu? Ryu are you all right? What's going on?  
**Ryu**: I'm in the forest and I heard gunshots. I think I found Blue.  
**Kage**: What about Solitaire?  
**Ryu**: I don't know. I'm a few meters north of the facility near Solitaire's location.  
**Kai**: Roger, everyone advance to Ryu's position._

Codec closed. Ryu was no longer trying to find his opponent. He was worried. He darted out of cover more and more in his rush to find Solitaire. He still looked over every once in a while to see if the remaining target was stationary but he didn't bother to focus. Finally his eyes managed to find her.

"Solitaire!" Training would dictate that he had to make sure that his enemy was down and that he should approach carefully nonetheless. It was irrelevant to Ryu at the moment. He ran out towards her body and dropped down to his knees. His gun landed a few centimeters away from him.

Her orange hair was accented by red streaks from her blood. Ryu was breathing heavily, he was scared that she might be… no, she couldn't be. He took his right glove off and pressed his two fingers against her throat searching for a pulse. Her neck felt warm and smooth. Eventually he found it, a steady pulse, it was weak but at least she was alive. He turned her body over; blood was flowing down her cheek from her forehead. The prisoner must have hit her with his pistol and knocked her out.

_**Ryu**: Kai, I found her, I think Blue knocked her out.  
**Kage**: Ryu, is she ok?  
**Ryu**: Yeah, she's just…_

Ryu didn't get to finish the sentence. He heard the gun cock in time to turn around and see him. Instinctively he wanted to jump out of the way of the shot but that meant exposing Solitaire. He turned his body enough to shield his head from the shot, but as a result his left shoulder suffered the bullet. He wanted to yell as he felt a fire erupt where the bullet hit him. He fell down and saw his own blood stain mingle with Solitaire's.

He left his cover and was approaching them. His face was covered in dirt and sweat. He wasn't wearing much, only a jacket he stole from one of the guards. He was barefoot and shivered; half his face was covered with frost. He held out his pistol and aimed it at Ryu's head. The man smiled, it wasn't a smile of insanity but one of understanding, "I'm surprised they send devil children like you onto the battlefield."

Ryu was panicking, the more he tried to concentrated, the more his fear and pain distracted him. He felt nauseous from the impulses running through his brain, and his best efforts to stay calm were in vain. His shoulder prevented him from reaching his gun, and his Dragunov was not an option either. In desperation he grabbed the only weapon he had left, his combat knife, and threw it, while rolling away from the responding gunshots. He felt a bullet graze his right leg and winced as the wound hit the cold snow.

The prisoner grunted from the knife wound and paused to take the knife out. He was about to throw it when Ryu tackled him to the ground. The prisoner dropped the weapons in the process of falling and grunted from the impact. Ryu summoned all of his strength and tried to take advantage of his momentum. He had learned several martial arts schools, but at that moment all of his training was gone and he was acting on pure instinct. He dived to grab his knife so he could have some sort of weapon to use, but once he grabbed it he felt his left shoulder explode as the prisoner kicked him away.

Painfully he got up, clutching his knife so hard that part of the blade cut his skin. The prisoner stood facing him; both of them were now tired and panting. Ryu felt his vision blur, he was losing too much blood and wouldn't hold out long enough for the others to arrive. Ryu _had_ to kill him or he and Solitaire would both die.

Using every bit of energy he had left he focused on the prisoner who was now getting ready for his next attack, and Ryu saw it. His stance, his muscles were preparing for a punch. Ryu already saw the motion, the speed, and the direction of the punch before the prisoner even got within range. By the time he lunged with his arm, Ryu stepped away from the punch. Putting all of the force he had behind his right hand, Ryu slammed the knife into his opponent's gut. The prisoner lurched forward, and gasped from the sudden attack. Ryu felt blood trickle down his hand, but he didn't pause. Again; he jammed the knife into the prisoner's chest and he heard a few ribs break. Again; he finished it with by driving the knife into his neck. Then he looked up, the prisoner's face was contorted in surprise and agony, he was looking downward at Ryu, speechless. Blood was flowing from his mouth, he was chocking on it by now. He uttered a few gasps and stumbled. But a part of Ryu wasn't satisfied, he was still alive. He wound up and punched the prisoner directly in the face resulting in the satisfying crack from his nose getting broken. Then the prisoner finally fell down, a red circle began to grow from around his neck.

His trance was broken, and reality suddenly weighed down on him. His strength was fading and he felt his body become heavy. His legs gave out and he suddenly dropped to his knees. He started feeling nauseous from the pain he had been suppressing. The realization of what he had just done didn't help him either. He didn't have the strength to open his codec so he simply gave in and let gravity take him down. Mission Accomplished.

_Vologodskaya Oblast', Russia  
3:13 AM, February 13th, 1996_

When Ryu woke up he felt warm for a change. His vision focused after a while and he realized where he was. He was on a bus which was driving them back to their barracks. To be more specific, he was on a bed which was set up for him to recover.

"Have a good nap?" Her cheery voice reminded him that he was awake. He turned his head to look over at the blonde sitting at his side.

"I wouldn't call it a nap." He felt a little bit numb and the pain from his wounds was dull and not as debilitating. "How's Solitaire?"

"She's fine. Turns out her injury wasn't that severe and there was no brain trauma so she's fine if a little shaky. Kage is worried sick of course but he _is_ pretty much her big brother." She smiled at him. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine." Ryu grunted and lowered his gaze.

"Just fine?"

"Yes, just fine." He didn't want to talk about how he killed the final prisoner. It bothered him, but he had to do it.

"She told me to tell you 'thanks'." Ryu looked back at Sakura. "Solitaire. She's too shy to say it flat out but she's thankful you helped her."

"It's what we're supposed to do." Ryu looked up at the dull white ceiling. "I would have done the same for anyone."

"True." Sakura's voice was drifting off. "I guess it's awesome for her to have two big brothers like you and Kage."

She looked sad when she said it, "And a big sister." Ryu tried to fake a smile.

"You loser." She smiled back. "Try to get some sleep. We're in for a debrief in the morning."

Sleep. Sounded like such a good idea. "Night Sakura." Ryu closed his eyes and seamlessly drifted into sleep.

-End Interlude-

_Author's Notes:_

-Just to clear up ages. Solitaire is 9-10 and Ryu is 11-12 during this flashback. The rest I already just take the time shift into account.  
-Also, I hope I made it clear but Ryu sees Solitaire as a little sister basically.  
-Ryu isn't very skilled at CQC at this point but by the beginning of the story he does become proficient at it.  
-Some of the abilities of Ryu's teammates were described. But I won't actually name them for now.


	12. Spells

_**Metal Gear Ryu**_

_Summary: Metal Gear Ryu is a crossover between Harry Potter and Metal Gear Solid set as an alternative to the events of Book 6. While searching for the Metal Gear, Ryu and Philanthropy found Hogwarts and more questions. In order to find more information, Ryu remained as a student while Snake, Raiden, and Otacon followed up other leads. However, new players have shown their own determination to find the Metal Gear._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Metal Gear Solid or 24 for that matter._

_Italicized text means dialogue over nano-communication. This is communication done via nano-machines inside of a person's bloodstream.  
A backslash before the name of a person talking signifies communication done via instant messaging.  
_

* * *

**_Ch10: Spells_**

_London, United Kingdom  
3:08 PM, October 26th 2003_

"The latest news regarding the attack on Leon Defense Corporation suggests a possible terrorist connection. We have with us a current expert regarding…" The television kept reiterating the story regarding the attack with new spins every hour. Terrorists, foreign agents, gas leak, aliens every possible theory in the book was thrown out along with an expert to support it.

"Too bad no one mentioned magic yet." Otacon's boredom overtook him as the TV kept spewing up more and more useless information.

Without looking, he picked up the nearby remote and switched the TV off then returned to clicking away at his keyboard.

**/Chloe**: Hal, are you busy?  
**/Hal**: What is it?  
**/Chloe:** I need you to call me at CTU, I forwarded my number to your email.  
**/Hal**: Chloe, can't this wait?  
**/Chloe**: No, it can't.

Otacon sighed, she was serious. He opened his email account and called her number. The phone rang twice. "Chloe?"

A male voice answered, "Is this Hal Emmerich?" Otacon stopped. Did Chloe tell someone? Or was she in some kind of trouble because of him? "This is Tony Almeida, Director of CTU Los Angeles."

Another voice came in over the line. "Hal this is Chloe, you're on speaker phone with me and Tony."

Not exactly sure what was going on, Otacon decided to at least try to get some grasp on the situation. "Chloe, what's going on?"

"I'm sorry Hal, I had to tell Tony what you sent me yesterday."

"What? Why?" Having the US government involved was not good news usually.

"We were investigating a lead; Nicholas Fierro an independent contractor for OMN Tech which we suspect is connected to the death of the agents. We raided his house but he was dead when we got there, we managed to recover his hard drive but it was badly damaged, The files we managed to pull were encrypted with the same cipher that was on your files. This can't just be a coincidence."

He hadn't heard much about OMN Tech, but he was certain he had seen the name somewhere before. He opened the Metal Gear files on his laptop and scanned the financial files on Project Pegasus. As he thought, OMN was mentioned.

"Look, I'm sure we can help each other out here." Otacon returned his attention to the phone call. Unlike Chloe, Tony's voice had more authority to it which made Otacon somewhat more suspicious of him. "We need people in England who can tell us what's going on. And I'm sure you could use CTU's resources to assist you. We're all looking for the same thing so I see no reason why we can't help each other."

Otacon let the words float around in his head for a few moments, then he managed to stutter his answer, "I'm sorry Chloe, I'm going to have to call you back."

"Hal wait!" He hung up the phone and put it down on his bed.

With CTU aware of them, things would get complicated really soon. Unfortunately, Snake was out doing some intel gathering and Raiden was at the airport. After a few minutes of staring at the bed he finally picked up the phone and dialed a number.

The phone rang twice, "Is this a secure line?" The elderly man on the other line coughed a few times.

"No." Otacon paused for a second, not sure how to ask him this. "Major, I need your help."

"I see." He seemed very tired, as he should be. He was going to turn 100 soon and Otacon felt somewhat guilty for calling him, but he needed help, and this was one of the few people he could hopefully trust. "I'll call you with a location in a few minutes." The line went dead.

_Hogwarts, Scotland  
5:12 PM, October 26th 2003_

Unfortunately for Ryu, Defense against the Dark Arts proved to be even more boring than Charms. Their teacher, Professor Snape, spent the entire lesson going on and on about useful defensive spells. They didn't interest Ryu for two reasons: the first was that his experience with the summoning charm has given him a reason not to like using spells for any reason, and the second being they looked like something little kids would do to each other. Ryu spent half the period passing notes to Gabe discussing their plans for after class, the other half he flipped around through his book looking at various things that interested him. The beauty of the books the used at Hogwarts was that they had moving pictures (something which both freaked Ryu out and amused him at the same time.) Some of them were even useful in the sense that he got to see some of the more 'arcane' spells being used.

For the most part Ryu avoided making eye contact with Snape since he was sure the guy was still sore over their previous encounter. Snape had an authoritative grip on the class forbidding any interruptions and explaining the material in a self-important manner. Ryu found the methods he taught to be ridiculous. Half the spells he talked about could easily have been replaced by a standard semi-automatic pistol, one clean shot and the problem would then be solved. Every so often he would call on someone. He didn't solicit volunteers and randomly attacked anyone he pleased by calling their name out like the crack of a whip.

"Mr. Ashe!" Ryu looked over to see Gabe staring back at Snape. "Would you care to explain to us why using the net charm be futile against a griffin?"

"Well you see," Gabe paused for a few seconds collecting himself, "I'm sure that a smart griffin will know his way around a net charm. He probably knows about it as much as _you_ do professor." A few people dared to chuckle. Ryu looked over and gave Gabe a 'nice one' look.

"Well Mr. Ashe I see you haven't been keeping up with your reading."

"I'm sorry professor," he interjected, "but the books just can't teach the subject as well as _you _can." A few more people chuckled. Snape didn't seem amused.

"Well I'm quite flattered Mr. Ashe." His tone was dry as he walked up to Gabe's desk. "Then you can do tonight's assignment straight from those meticulous notes you've been taking throughout the class." He shut Gabe's book loudly and picked it up, "and you probably won't need this." Gabe rolled his eyes, "Mr. Ryu. Perhaps you have a better explanation than our friend here. One that involves something other than idle flattery?"

Ryu idly flipped through a few pages in his book in the hope of an answer magically appearing to him. Finally he decided to say the first thing that came to mind. "Probably the same reason you wouldn't pull out a wand on someone who can break your arm before you cast a spell?" He tried his hardest to feign innocence while saying that.

Snape glared daggers at him, when he spoke he did so with a slow seething tone that seemed to exude the intent to kill, "In his own, metaphorical, way Mr. Ryu managed to hint at the reason. A normal griffin will be able to see a net spell being cast and will maul the wizard before he has the time to complete it which is why," fortunately the bell managed to cut him off.

Ryu didn't waste any time to leave the classroom and avoiding having to talk to the other Ravenclaws. Once outside, Gabe managed to catch up to him. "Man, can't believe Snape is making me do that stupid essay without my book. Think I can bum yours off you?"

"Are you always this laid back?" Ryu asked.

"Pardon?"

"Well, your dad's in the military, but you don't seem to have any traits a soldier would."

"I'll take that as a compliment." He said proudly. "I take after my mum; she's the one who told me not to be as paranoid as my dad is."

"I guess that's one way to look at it." Ryu said absent-mindedly.

They walked down the hallway and were about to enter the Great Hall when they suddenly heard someone start yelling, "Hey mudblood, watch where you're going!" Ryu wheeled and saw a blonde kid with Slytherin robes stare down a younger Hufflepuff. The blonde was flanked by two more Slytherins who looked like they shared one brain between each other.

"You don't want to go there." Gabe cautioned him, "Draco Malfoy, some reckon he's the biggest idiot in Hogwarts after Snape." Ryu didn't answer, and continued observing Malfoy's actions. He seemed to be a bit, edgy, and the outburst seemed to calm him down a bit.

"Hey Malfoy," someone else yelled from the other side of the room, "isn't it visiting day today? I'm sure your dad can use some company." A red-headed kid with freckles and a Gryffindor robe confronted Malfoy. He was accompanied by two more Gryffindors, one of whom Ryu had seen before somewhere. Both parties proceeded to exchange insults at each other and drew their wands except for Malfoy's two oafs who just cracked their knuckles.

"I can't believe they're at it again." Gabe rolled his eyes as others began to crowd around awaiting the impending fight. "It's been like this since the start of the year. I swear I don't think they'll be satisfied until they're expelled."

"I think I've seen that guy somewhere before." Ryu pointed to the kid with the glasses. "Harry Potter, right?"

"Yup. The boy who lived." Gabe said automaticly.

"The boy who _lived?_ What, did his brother die or something?"

"No, he was the one person who Voldemort was unable to kill." Ryu noticed that a few people flinched when Gabe said 'Voldemort' "I also heard from someone he's destined to kill Voldemort, so" the nearby students threw Gabe a look. "Pardon, I mean you-know-who, so he's out to kill Harry first. Some people think Malfoy already works for him, which I could see happening since his dad's already in prison."

"What's with them?" Ryu nodded toward the students who seemed irritated by Gabe.

"Oh, that." He lowered his voice, "Most people in the wizarding world are so afraid of Voldemort they are afraid to even pronounce his name." Ryu turned around and looked at Gabe to see if he was joking. Unfortunately he wasn't.

The word fight turned into a wand fight as the Slytherins and Gryffindors began to shoot rays of light between each other. The fight bored Ryu quickly since about the most exciting thing he saw was one of the Slytherin's break out in hives from one of the spells. Without saying anything Ryu turned around and began heading toward the Great Hall for dinner when he suddenly felt warmth near his left shoulder. Then something hit it and it began to burn. Ryu winced as he looked at it. His clothes were singed and his skin was a bit raw. He looked over and saw Malfoy scanning the crowd. When Malfoy saw Ryu's wound he smirked and then returned his attention to the fight.

"You all right?" Gabe examined Ryu's shoulder. "It doesn't look too bad, but I still think you should go have it looked at. Ryu?" Ryu, instead, focused on the fight in front of him. He reached into his robes to pull out his gun, but his better judgment stopped him. Instead he drew his wand and began mentally listing all the spells he knew. Summoning, repelling, net, all useless. Then he remembered seeing a picture in his textbook of how a wizard fended himself off from treants with a fire-based spell.

Ryu visualized the spell, then repeated the motions, a small circle followed by a downward flick. Then he aimed his wand at Malfoy, "_Ignis._" A giant stream of flame shot out and knocked Malfoy to the ground. His clothes proved to be somewhat flammable as he rolled around to try to put out the fire. Several people tried to help him, others looked over at Ryu who had already put his wand away.

"Bad move." Gabe said while turning toward the Great Hall. They managed to walk a few stops when Ryu felt a familiar presence.

"Going somewhere Mr. Ashe?" Ryu was somewhat surprised by how quick Dumbledore had gotten there and the fact that he didn't even notice him. Gabe looked up and had an expression of guilt on his face. "Ryu, may I have a word with you in my office?" Ryu nodded to Gabe who went off. Then he followed Dumbledore.

Within a few moments they were up in the familiar office. Once again, Ryu sat across from Dumbledore at his oak desk. After a short silence Dumbledore spoke, "I assume you will have that shoulder looked at?" His tone was calm with no traces of anger or disapproval.

"It's fine." Ryu said coldly, "It just stings a bit."

"You can understand that I am not particularly happy that you have set one of my students on fire." His tone was more serious now. Ryu continued to look him in the eye. He had learned from training, that showing submission or remorse when being punished was a sign of weakness. Even if the action was a bit extreme, Ryu felt there was no reason for him to attempt to downplay what he did. "Since you are new," he continued, "I will not take any disciplinary action this time, but be assured, while here you are a student, and I will treat you like one." As much as he fought it, Ryu felt Dumbledore's words instill a sense of authority he had long since forgotten. It somewhat irritated him that the man he had known for barely a few days could manipulate him so well.

Choosing his words carefully Ryu replied, "Is that all?"

"Yes, unless you have something to add?"

Ryu paused for a second, "That attack mentioned in the papers."

"Yes?"

"My partners were there. I don't think the Death Eaters did it."

Dumbledore nodded, "Yes, I have come to a similar conclusion. My sources say that the Death Eaters had been summoned to a meeting that night."

Ryu looked up at him, "Sources?"

"Yes, which I have no intention of revealing. Rest assured they are reliable however."

Ryu nodded, "According to what we found, the group that attacked the compound has access to human military equipment and had an understanding of magic."

"And I assume they were after the Metal Gear?"

"We're guessing so. Snake will contact me when he gets more info. Meanwhile, you don't happen to know of any groups that could have done this, do you?"

Dumbledore paused for a second then shook head, "I'm afraid not at the moment. I will have to look into this matter. I will contact you if I find anything."

"Right." Ryu answered, "Likewise for myself."

"Very well then," Dumbledore concluded, "I suppose you should enjoy your dinner."

Ryu nodded, got up, and walked out of the room letting the door close with a soft thud. The tension he had been feeling suddenly dropped and Ryu let the cool air flow over his face. Feeling a bit hungry, he began taking slow steps toward the Great Hall.

-End Ch. 10-

_Author's Notes:_

-Sorry for the delay. I hit a bit of a stumbling block. Hopefully next chapter will be up a bit faster.  
-Regarding the Major. He's not a new character. MGS fans should know who he is.  
-Treants were borrowed from Warcraft III – think living trees.


	13. Target

_**Metal Gear Ryu**_

_Summary: Metal Gear Ryu is a crossover between Harry Potter and Metal Gear Solid set as an alternative to the events of Book 6. While searching for the Metal Gear, Ryu and Philanthropy found Hogwarts and more questions. In order to find more information, Ryu remained as a student while Snake, Raiden, and Otacon followed up other leads. However, new players have shown their own determination to find the Metal Gear._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Metal Gear Solid or 24 for that matter._

_Italicized text means dialogue over nano-communication. This is communication done via nano-machines inside of a person's bloodstream.  
A backslash before the name of a person talking signifies communication done via instant messaging.  
_

* * *

_**Ch11: Target**_

_Hogwarts, Scotland  
5:33 PM, October 26th 2003_

Going down into Great Hall a second time, Ryu was prepared for the explosion of noise he would walk into. The dinner was proceeding lively as ever with all of the tables alive with discussion of the events of the day. Ryu proceeded down the length of the walkway, ignoring completely the teachers' table where he was sure he would meet Snape's gaze. A few people looked up at him this time, probably because they heard of his encounter with Malfoy. Some people actually gave him a thumb's up or offered something which sounded like congratulations which confirmed that guess.

At the Ravenclaw table he saw Gabe waving at him and motioning him to the empty seat next to him. Taking the opportunity, Ryu quickly made his way down to his table and sat down next to Gabe. At the table he was once again impressed by the variety and amount of the food. He, somewhat guiltily, began piling food on top of his plate.

"So what did Dumbledore say? Are you going to get punished?" Gabe asked somewhat excitedly.

"No." Ryu said without taking his attention away from his plate. "I don't think he wants me to do that again thought."

"I can probably guess why." Both of them didn't speak for a while as they ate. Ryu heard a few people mention his name and a few looked over in his direction. As he was about to get dessert Gabe spoke up again. "How did you do that?"

"How did I do what?" Ryu looked over at him.

"Cast that spell. We've never learned it before."

"It was in the Defense against the dark arts book. I saw the picture."

Gabe had an odd look of confusion on his face. "Really? I've never heard of anyone learning spells straight from pictures. I always figured you'd need someone to explain to you how to do the motions correctly or how to form the magic."

Ryu paused for a second. He wasn't sure how he had learned the spell, but it made sense to him when he saw the picture. "I guess it made sense to me somehow." He offered.

"Anyway," Gabe said after finishing his dinner, "I'm going to go and look around a bit, and I'll see you in the library in a few minutes." Ryu nodded and went back to his food.

After dinner Ryu made his way down to the library to pick up some books about the castle that could help him find Metal Gear. Unlike the corridors which were somewhat noisy, the library was fairly empty and quiet. Ryu liked it. The librarian wasn't in so instead he made his way to the massive bookshelves and began to browse. There wasn't an apparent cataloguing system so he decided to use a systematic approach which didn't help considering how many books there were.

After making his way down the third shelf he heard footsteps approach him. "Need some help?" He turned around and saw the girl from earlier in the morning with another girl who seemed to be from Gryffindor.

"Yeah, thanks. It's Kim right?" Ryu asked.

"Yup. And this is Tabia." She pointed to her companion. "So what do you need?"

"I need some books on the history of the castle. Know where to find those?"

"Sure." She said cheerily. "Follow me."

They walked down a few rows. Kim seemed to have a perfect grasp of how the library was structured. "Amazing. Can't believe anyone figured this system out."

"Oh it's really simple." She said quickly walking down the rows. "You just need to know what the numbers mean and then it's easy." Eventually they stopped in front of a dusty section of books. Kim looked around the shelf. Then she immediately picked up a giant tome and began re-arranging the shelf.

Ryu read the title of the book. "_Hogwarts, a History?_"

"Yes. Hermione must have checked it out again. I swear, I don't know what she sees in that book." Kim mumbled. "It's really boring."

Ryu looked at her, "You actually read it?"

"Yup." She said getting up after straightening the shelf, "read most of the books here."

Ryu looked around the library, then back at her. She seemed oddly calm about that statement. "Do you work here or something?"

"Kind of. Tabia and I help out Madam Pince every so often. Anyway, I got to go. I suppose I'll see you in class."

As she was walking away Ryu re-concentrated on the books he had to look at. He picked up a few of the smaller ones which seemed to have some insights on the structure of the castle and the surroundings. As he was making his way out he noticed one of the books lying on the tables. _Medieval Spellcraft_. The book had a picture of wizard dueling with what looked like light sabers. Thinking that using his wand may be a better alternative than flashbangs or guns next time there was a problem, Ryu picked it up as well to see if he could learn a few useful tricks should he need them.

_London, United Kingdom  
8:10 PM, October 26th 2003_

Both Otacon and Snake were making their way along the riverbank. The location was fairly public with plenty of people enjoying themselves. The atmosphere was calm and lively at the same time. The streetlights were shining across the neatly paved road. The trees swayed gently allowing the branches to rustle a little bit. As they were walking, Otacon noticed the person they were coming to meet at one of the benches.

"Snake, that's him." Otacon pointed toward an elderly man who was looking up at the sky and humming an old song.

"That guy?" Snake asked suspiciously.

Ignoring Snake, Otacon approached him and the two exchanged a quick greeting before Otacon called Snake over. "Snake, are you planning to get over here or not?"

Reluctantly Snake approached him as well. The old man slowly got up and extended his hand to Snake. "Snake, I'd like you to meet a family friend." Snake looked at Otacon, then back at the old man and returned the handshake.

"Snake," he said, with a hint of nostalgia in his voice. "I haven't heard that name being used in a long time."

"So exactly who _are_ you major?" Snake said impatiently.

"Snake." Otacon said disapprovingly but was interrupted.

"Quite all right. Well I don't suppose you've heard of me since I was quite before your time. But I had the pleasure of working with your," he paused, "ancestor I should say."

"Say what?"

"My former code name was Major Zero. I was the founder of the Fox unit which predated Foxhound. I worked with the original Snake before he earned the title of Big Boss."

Snake looked over the old man. His wrinkled face, the fading scar on his left eye, the somewhat empty head of hair, and his semi-jovial demeanor made Snake doubt this man's identity but he trusted Otacon so for the moment he decided to trust the major as well.

"Now then," He said sitting back down on the bench and offering the others a seat in the nearby chairs, "what is so complicated that you had to bring an old man out of his retirement?"

Otacon, with Snake's help, began explaining everything that happened to date. They began with their assignment as inspectors in Yugoslavia which quickly turned sour. Immediately after, they traced down the Metal Gear to London by finding Ryu. When they got to the part about Hogwarts, Otacon ran into some trouble explaining everything without using the word 'magic'. Major Zero listened intently and took even the explanation of Hogwarts and everything related to it seriously. Finally, Otacon summed everything up with the events that occurred yesterday and the phone called he received earlier.

"I see." Major Zero finally spoke up. "I don't think I can be of any use to you with that Hogwarts business of yours, but I think I _can_ help you with Dragon Ethics."

"You have something in mind?" asked Snake.

"I'm sure you've heard plenty about the Patriots." The major began, "However the patriots composed only a third of their father group, the philosophers."

"The Philosophers? Didn't they split up during the cold war?"

"Yes. The American faction which re-named itself as The Patriots, gained control of the vast funds possessed by the Philosophers and as such maintained its supremacy. Dragonic Ethics, as far as I was able to discern, represents a substantial portion of the remaining Philosophers. After Operation Snake Eater succeeded in acquiring the Philosopher's Legacy for the US government, the remaining Philosophers were left powerless as The Patriots slowly began taking control of the world. To combat them, they banded together and began rebuilding their empire. This organization, Dragonic Ethics, operates through thousands of proxy corporations all over the world, however no one has actually ever met its owners or founders. Now these two powers are in a deadlock, The Patriots control the western hemisphere, and Dragonic Ethics, the east."

"And Metal Gear is supposed to be the deciding factor?" Snake guessed.

"That would be my assumption."

Otacon, who was listening to the conversation joined in, "What about Leon? Do you think that was done by the Patriots?"

"No. I've heard a few rumors about who could have been behind that attack, but they are very vague at best. I suppose I can look into these things for you."

Otacon began to get up. "Thank you Major."

"Don't mention it. It's the least I can do for an old friend." They shook hands and parted.

As Snake and Otacon were making their way down toward the hotel, Snake finally asked something that's been bugging him. "So how do you two know each other?"

"My father and Major Zero were close friends especially after the Major retired. As I grew up I saw him less and less. However we were in contact once again when he found out I was recruited to build REX. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." Snake answered. "it's just interesting to meet one of Big Boss's old friends."

_London, United Kingdom  
9:25 PM, October 26th 2003_

The meeting hall was partially lit by the chandelier and several of the wall lamps. In the center was a large semi-circular table with chairs placed at regular intervals. Across the giant doors that opened into the room stood a large podium with five large chairs. The entire arrangement of furniture resembled a parliament hall. Several of the chairs were filled already with their respective attendees.

They were walking down the dimly lit passage toward the meeting room. He was partly paying attention to the briefing Rafael was giving and part wondered what the meeting would go like. Since it was merely a briefing meant to keep the relative members up-to-date, the room would be half-filled at best and only those who were working with the Metal Gear would be present.

"… This is the summary of our recent activities and investigations, commander." Rafael finished up his briefing and handed him a folder. "There is one last thing I should mention. We looked into Commander Wolf's activities and we found an interesting connection. A stockholder within several of the companies we've been targeting who has an interesting past. I took the liberty of gathering the relevant information in your files."

"Thank you." They arrived at the wooden doors which slowly swung open for them. The two slowly made their way toward the semi-circular table and took their seat. Out of the ten commanders, only four were currently present with their subordinates on hand. The remaining six had a secretary fill their seat to brief them later.

He checked his watch; the meeting was due to start. Within seconds the doors opened again and three men wearing black robes entered the room. All of the members instinctively stood up and waited for the robed men to take their seat before they themselves did. Normally for these low-level briefings there were only one or two judges present; however the higher number of judges underscored their interest on the topic of the Metal Gear.

As all of the members took their seat, Judge Lucia, the senior of the Judges began speaking, "I'd like to begin by calling this meeting to order. We are here to be updated on the subject of the Metal Gear as well as hear about the recent operations of the third and sixth chapters. Would commanders Joachim Wolf of the Order of the Fang, and Sousuke Hoten of the Order of the Lotus deliver their reports."

Sousuke calmly stood up and walked side by side with Wolf as they neared the Judge's podium. Sousuke had never particularly liked Wolf. Unlike himself, Wolf was a very impulsive captain who preferred to go down and blow things up until an answer came his way. His doctrine was evident in the way he looked. His jet-black hair was more like a mane as the unruly mess reached past his shoulders. He wore a well-worn leather jacket which was decorated with several tears and cuts received from former battles. His rust-colored eyes twinkled as his face was fixed in a menacing snarl. Sousuke, on the other hand, chose to dress formally, wearing a black business suit with a silver tie and combed his dark-brown hair neatly on the side. His eyes were much more subtle in the expression of his annoyance at both Wolf and Lucia.

"Very well commanders. Please entertain us." Judge Lucia said dryly. Sousuke rolled his eyes. Lucia had no particular interest in the Metal Gear. Being 73 years old, he was a firm traditionalist who had little taste for technology and failed to see how the devotion of two chapters was justified.

Wolf began talking without any self-restraint. His German accent was still audible even though his English had improved somewhat. He even picked up some slang in America which he took the opportunity to demonstrate to everyone. Wolf's statements were similar to his own: they were not much closer to locating Metal Gear since the last meeting five weeks ago. Wolf had managed to track one of the companies which was supposedly responsible for the Metal Gear's armament; OMN Tech. There he had ran into Nicholas Fierro who was apparently an informer for the US government. From Fierro he learned that two CIA agents were killed when they left for Britain to investigate OMN's activities there. After Fierro told him all he knew, Wolf killed him and had the relative evidence destroyed.

Sousuke spoke next. However, rather than going into detail about his actions at Leon, he had asked Rafael to give his report. After Rafael had explained all the necessary details, Sousuke added the information they had learned after the attack, including the interference of the legendary mercenary 'Solid Snake.' After his briefing was over, both he and Wolf sat down. Lucia then promptly adjourned the meeting.

As Sousuke was getting up to leave Wolf had caught up to him. "So tell me, how strong was he, Solid Snake?"

Sousuke thought of ignoring him, at 27 Wolf still acted like a child. "I didn't deem it necessary to fight him. I've no interest in pointless fighting."

"Oh come on. It's not like I don't get the job done. I just don't see anything wrong with having fun while doing it." Sousuke continued ignoring him as he walked toward the doors. "You should try having fun some time. It will make you less of an ass."

Sousuke stopped. He turned around and flashed his cerulean eyes at Wolf. With every bit of restraint he resisted flaring his energy. "I don't need bravado to make up for my weaknesses." He said coldly. Much to Sousuke's annoyance Wolf was still grinning, however now he was serious. Wolf then calmly walked through the doors without replying. Sousuke promptly followed.

When Sousuke was outside he was greeted by a familiar man in black robes. "Is everything ok?"

"Yes." Sousuke affirmed. Both of them began walking down toward the exit. Sousuke pulled out his folder and pulled out a packet of papers which he handed to the Judge. "This is my full report. This includes parts which I didn't reveal at the meeting as well as my reports on the activities of the other commanders."

"Thank you." He said. "I am very sorry for putting you in this position Sousuke. However we have no choice. Three of the other judges share my sentiments about the possibility of a traitor."

"Think nothing of it uUncle Nobu. I am grateful to be able to help you. I suppose Lucia still thinks nothing is wrong?"

"Unfortunately. That fool is more afraid of our relationship rather than any traitor. I would be wary of him. Incidentally, where was the commander of the ninth chapter?"

Sousuke thought for a second. "I heard he was out on assignment. I will ask him to report to you when he returns."

The man nodded. "Thank you once again. I will await further news." Then he walked off.

Sousuke, finally alone, opened the folder and read through the contents of Rafael's report. What really interested him was the man Rafael mentioned he investigated. That man Adam Ramirov, owned stock in OMN, Leon, and several other important firms which were part of Project Pegasus and were connected to Dragonic Ethics. Sousuke smiled, Adam was his alias. Rafael's research into his finances placed the man at Big Shell, Discovery, and Shadow Moses, three of the latest Metal Gear incidents. The man's classified military record even revealed his codename: Revolver Ocelot.

-End Ch. 11-

_Author's Notes:_

-There he is everyone: Ocelot. I was planning on putting him in much later but meh. He is an interesting character.  
-Major Zero should be 100 by the events MGS2 but since I set it back 6 years he is 94 technically. Besides I think he's pretty cool.  
-Raiden's trip to the airport will be explained.  
-And the library aides are two friends of mine who also happen to work at the library in real life.  
-Oh and Sousuke is an OC not any crossover.


	14. Skirmish

_**Metal Gear Ryu**_

_Summary: Metal Gear Ryu is a crossover between Harry Potter and Metal Gear Solid set as an alternative to the events of Book 6. While searching for the Metal Gear, Ryu and Philanthropy found Hogwarts and more questions. In order to find more information, Ryu remained as a student while Snake, Raiden, and Otacon followed up other leads. However, new players have shown their own determination to find the Metal Gear._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Metal Gear Solid or 24 for that matter._

_Italicized text means dialogue over nano-communication. This is communication done via nano-machines inside of a person's bloodstream.  
A backslash before the name of a person talking signifies communication done via instant messaging.  
_

* * *

_**Ch12: Skirmish  
**_

_Private Estate, Northern United Kingdom  
9:13 PM, October 29th 2003_

_This is Crisis; we have our men in position awaiting orders._

Sousuke looked over the perimeter of the compound with his binoculars. It was fairly guarded. At least 13 guards stood outside armed with SA80 Assault rifles and MP5 Submachine guns. Thermal imaging with a recon drone estimated at least 20 more people on the inside.

"Sir" one of Sousuke's lieutenants tapped him on the shoulder. "Crisis and Blight teams are standing by." Sousuke nodded.

_**Sousuke**: Rafael, give me the run down of the blitz scenario.  
**Rafael**: Sir. We should be able to remove the external security with just kijutsu; internally we may not be so lucky. However I doubt our enemy expects an assault and should not be able to fire as we cross. Inside we cannot be certain what could happen.  
**Sousuke**: Understood. Blight, Crisis; begin the assault._

Sousuke motioned for his own men to get in position. His Aurora Team was supposed to lead the frontal assault while Blight entered through the back. Crisis was to secure an escape route and provide sniper support. Both Blight and Crisis were covert ops teams of 9 men who were generally trained to handle non-traditional operations such as this while Aurora, Sousuke's team, was a tactical team whose job was to provide command and control on the battlefield.

They moved forward creeping through the bushes as they advanced toward the main gate. The compound was on top of a fairly large hill 20 miles away from the nearest town. It was connected by only one road which was seldom traveled. The house itself was surrounded by a low wall which was more decorative than defensive. The house was huge and ornate with architectural elements of the renaissance period. According to the blueprints it had three stories and at least 15 rooms.

The main gate was illuminated by the pale blue glow of the street lamps. Two guards stood outside watching the street for any signs of intruders. Sousuke signaled for one of the men to approach with him. Both drew their primary weapons: IWS-35C assault rifles.

The IWS-35 rifle was one of the first rifle designs that had integrated both magic and technology in the design. A derivative of the M4 rifle, the IWS-35 enchanted the barrel to be able to sustain higher levels of heat and pressure which allowed for more powerful bullets to be used. Also there were several 'shock absorber' like enchantments which suppressed the recoil from rapid fire by twenty-five percent. The rounds were a derivative of the 5.56mm caliber but used a combination of chemical and magical reaction to push the round out of the cartridge creating fairly high bullet speeds and effectively increasing the range. The final adjustment made was a magical focus which was attached under the barrel. A focus was basically a conduit for magical energy, such as a wand or a talisman, that facilitated the use of magic.

Sousuke always felt stupid using his rifle for the purpose of magic, it was less efficient but also more stealthy. He lowered the gun and with an instinctive motion fired of a green burst of light at one of the guards. A second burst shot out from the nearby soldier who took out the second guard. In the distance he noticed a few more flashes which meant that Blight had begun the assault.

His team approached the entrance. "Take out the gate." Sousuke ordered one of the men. The man reached into one of his pouches and pulled out a small piece of paper with several runes inscribed on it. He attached it to the gate then mumbled a few words and backed away. Within a few seconds the gate exploded. "Let's go!"

Inside the gate Sousuke's team was met with intense gunfire. The perimeter guards were already alert and firing away at his men who took refuge behind the walls.

_**Sousuke**: Rafael, they're pinning us down, are you faring any better?  
**Rafael**: We're having problems here as well sir. It looks as if they were ready for us. Interior guards mobilized very quickly and they're well fortified.  
**Sousuke**: They knew were coming?  
**Rafael**: It seems that way yes._

Sousuke closed the codec. Their contingency plans didn't factor a fully prepared enemy. It was time to improvise. "Sir, what are your orders?" one of the younger men looked at him.

"Roman legions, when besieging castles, would create an impenetrable shield formation to defend themselves against missile fire by interlocking their shields." Sousuke began.

"A _tate_ spell wouldn't be large enough to protect all of us." One of the soldiers yelled out from the other side of the wall.

"If four of us make a joint spell it should allow the other two to be able to pick off the guards. There's only one problem, the spell would be unstable after 5 minutes so whoever are the shooters, they better act fast." The other 5 men on his team nodded and selected the two shooters. The remaining three lowered their weapons and channeled their magic into Sousuke who used it, with is own, to create a giant shield which extended in a half-dome around the six men.

As they entered in formation, the transparent shield began to crackle as bullets began raining down on them. Sousuke strained to keep the four separate magical currents in a stable shield but his problem was compounded since every bullet impact weakened the shield. The two men on his flanks returned fire. Rather than firing in short bursts they began spraying the opposing side to pin the enemy down.

Sousuke felt the shield giving in. He strained to keep it together for a bit longer, however the stress had worn him down and he felt the energies slipping from his control. "In 10 seconds," he shouted "cut yourselves off and get to cover." The rest nodded.

"3.2.1." Then he let go. The combined forces of their individual energies suddenly tore at each other like four hungry dogs that were put in front of a piece of meat. There was a violent explosion and Sousuke was sent flying backwards. He felt dizzy and part of his body was now in pain from the spell and from the shockwave. Instinctively he got up and rolled toward the nearest fountain where the sides were high for him to hide behind. He looked around to see how his men were faring. Most had gotten to cover except for one who seemed to have a wounded leg.

_**Sousuke**: Give him covering fire!_

They were too far apart now and the gunfire too loud for him to yell. The other four men fired several streams of bullets at the windows and were met with return fire from within. The soldier who had been one of the shooters earlier now limped towards him. Sousuke saw his leg; it was badly torn up from bullet wounds and the explosion which slowed him down to a crawl and he was straining to avoid the rain of gunfire pouring down on their position.

In the midst of the frenzy his gun suddenly ran empty. Rather than reloading he let it drop to the ground and pulled out his Desert Eagle. With only 7 shots, he had to fire slowly and deliberately. As he was about to take his shot, the gunfire suddenly stopped. His men peeked out from cover to see the reason. Sousuke trained his pistol toward the front door. Slow footsteps echoed from inside and were accompanied by a bell-like noise. "Spurs?" Sousuke mumbled.

Suddenly Sousuke heard a click. Although he was already aiming at the doorway he reacted too late. There was a single gunshot from inside. The bullet, however, didn't hit him. As he glanced to his left, he noticed that his wounded lieutenant was dead. Sousuke cursed mentally and was about to fire inside when a man, Sousuke had seen before, emerged from the doorway.

"I don't suppose anyone told you that there is a doorbell?" the man said while slowly twirling his revolver around. "But then again the inquisitors aren't really known for their tactful entrances."

"How do you?" asked Sousuke.

"Know who you are?" the man finished for him. "Your group has been meddling in our affairs for quite some time. Though your other members had the courtesy of being somewhat more discreet." There was no file on him in the archives, Sousuke thought, so it was unlikely that he was involved with any official business. Knowledge of the inquisitors was very rare outside of the organization primarily due to its nature. Their job was to make sure that ordinary humans to not interfere with the affairs of the magic community. Because of the discreet nature of the community, the inquisitors kept to themselves and eventually became unknown even to the wizards. As such they had autonomy of their operations and answered only to the tribunal of the five judges. For someone like that to know about them meant he had access to very high levels of intelligence information or he had some unofficial visits from other members of their organization.

Sousuke tightened his grip on the pistol, however the old man's reflexes were fast. He instantly raised his revolver to eye level and aimed it at Sousuke's head. "It's Ocelot isn't it?" Sousuke asked.

"I see you've done your research comrade." His accent was distinctly Russian, however it was refined enough to indicate a high level of education. "I don't suppose I can have the pleasure of your name?"

"Hoten, Sousuke." Sousuke replied coldly, "Tell me, where is Metal Gear?"

"Short and to the point," Ocelot replied leisurely, "you seem like you would make a very good businessman." Sousuke forced himself not to get provoked. Rather, he studied his opponent. Ocelot was quite old with long grey hair, arguably in his sixties at that point, however he showed little signs of aging. His attire was reminiscent of old western movies; complete with spurred boots, a coat, and was rounded off with his revolvers. One odd thing Sousuke noticed, however, was the fact that Ocelot's right arm seemed limp and would merely twitch every once in a while.

Suddenly Ocelot grunted. His right arm began seizing and he dropped to his knees while trying to restrain it with his other one. Both his men and the guards pointed their guns at each other while Ocelot was struggling to subdue his arm. Once the shaking stopped Ocelot stood up once again.

When he opened his mouth both his voice and his manner of speaking completely changed, "It feels quite good to be on the surface again." Some of the guards seemed confused and took their attention away from Sousuke and his men. "I'm quite sorry if my other half was rude in greeting you. He is quite ill-tempered I'm afraid." His new voice was much younger and had a flawless British accent.

"Who are you?" Sousuke asked. It had occurred to him that this could have been another personality of Ocelot's.

"My name is Liquid. Liquid Snake. Co-inhabitant of this body." He announced while stretching out his arms. With slow deliberate steps he then began approaching Sousuke. Feeling somewhat out of place with his gun trained on Liquid, he holstered his pistol however motioned for his men to stay on guard. Once Liquid got close enough to Sousuke he suddenly extended his hand. "How do you do?"

Sousuke looked at the man's outstretched hand then at his face which seemed to show a sign of sincerity. "Not one for handshakes are you? Well then shall we proceed to important matters? You had asked about the Metal Gear I believe?"

Whoever this guy was, he was arguably much less sane than his counterpart. Either that or just stupid. "Where is it?" Sousuke asked.

"Well, to be truthful, I have no idea myself." Liquid replied calmly.

"You're lying!"

"Maybe," he said with a smirk on his face, "but as it stands I don't think you will learn much from me today." He paused then added. "Not unless you particularly want to start a battle at least." He then turned around and motioned for his men to fall back. "I suggest you find the pilot and ask him yourself. He should be hanging around that idiot brother of mine." With those words Ocelot/Liquid vanished inside the house.

"Sir?" one of his men asked him. "Should we pursue?" Sousuke thought for a moment, then opened his codec.

_**Sousuke**: Rafael, what is your current status?  
**Rafael**: Sir. We have suffered 30 percent casualties. I do not think we can advance much further.  
**Sousuke**: Understood. We will withdraw.  
**Rafael**: Yes sir._

The communication was cut off. He turned to face his men. Most had a worn out look on their faces along with dust and various cuts from the battle. "We will return to headquarters." They nodded silently. One of the soldiers walked up and picked up the body of the dead lieutenant and carried him off the front lawn.

The council will most likely be furious with his actions, Sousuke thought, but he had learned plenty enough from this confrontation. In any case, he could always return to settle his duel later. For now one thing bugged his mind: how did they know he was coming?

_Kingsbury Train Station – London, United Kingdom  
10:02 PM, October 30th 2003_

There were still plenty of people getting on and off the trains even at that late hour. The crowds at the station stifled the cold night air and made the station feel more like a prison. She was sitting on a bench by herself, waiting, and thinking of what she was going to do and say. She scanned the crowds to see if he would come. It was in vain, he was an expert at not being found, but she tried anyway.

Suddenly someone spoke from behind her. "You shouldn't do this." His voice was soft and full of worry.

"I know." She replied trying her best to sound brave, "This is the way it has to be. I saw it in my dream."

"Haven't you ever considered your dreams to be just dreams? 'nothing more than products of an idle brain'?" he asked.

"When have they ever been that?" She felt some of her confidence she had built up waver.

"He's been gone from our lives for over four years Solitaire. There's no reason for you to go see him."

"I know." She said softly. "But I know that I have to, he needs to know Kage." She felt her voice wavering a bit. She hadn't told him the entire prophecy; it would hurt him too much.

"Do you have to go alone?" There was a hint of sadness in his voice. He was worried, he was always worried, ever since they had been children he took care of her like she was his sister.

"Yes."

"Don't do anything dangerous."

"I know."

"You'll be back soon right?"

"Yes." She lied. Then she got up and began walking toward the train that had just pulled up.

"I'll see you soon." He called out as she was boarding.

"Goodbye, Kage." She whispered holding back the urge to cry.

When the doors closed and the train began leaving the station she looked outside. He had already disappeared. She was glad he did. She wouldn't want him to know she was scared. Composing herself, she took out her tarot deck and began arranging the cards again. It was the only way she could pass the time. Ryu, she wondered, what was he like now?

-End Ch. 12-

_Author's Notes:_  
-_tate_ means shield in Japanese  
-_kijutsu_ means strange technique but I intended it to mean magic. Rafael was reffeing to them using the equivalent of the Avada Kedavra with their rifles.  
-A bit of a short chapter but I had to set up the transition into the next one.  
-Sorry if it was a bit too technical but I wanted to give a little background to the inquisitors. And try out some of the more technical writing. Some once again, be gentle.  
-Also I hope I did a good job of capturing liquid ocelot's talking styles. I could really use some feedback on it.  
-One last bit. The next chapter will be one of those turning points, so I will take my time to flesh it out. So it might be delayed.


	15. Reunion Part 1

_**Metal Gear Ryu**_

_Summary: Metal Gear Ryu is a crossover between Harry Potter and Metal Gear Solid set as an alternative to the events of Book 6. While searching for the Metal Gear, Ryu and Philanthropy found Hogwarts and more questions. In order to find more information, Ryu remained as a student while Snake, Raiden, and Otacon followed up other leads. However, new players have shown their own determination to find the Metal Gear._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Metal Gear Solid or 24 for that matter._

_Italicized text means dialogue over nano-communication. This is communication done via nano-machines inside of a person's bloodstream.  
A backslash before the name of a person talking signifies communication done via instant messaging.  
_

* * *

_**Ch13: Reunion - Part I**_

_London, United Kingdom  
8:22 AM, October 31st 2003_

"Hey Snake, check this out." Otacon motioned to the TV screen where the morning news was playing.

"What is it?" The main story was about some sort of firefight happening in a private estate in northern UK. The estate's owner declined any comment however issued a statement that it was merely some sort of prank gone wrong. Snake watched attentively as Otacon typed away on his keyboard. "So why is this so important?"

"I checked around on the internet. The guy who owns that mansion, Adam Ramirov, owns stock in a bunch of defense firms including Leon." Otacon added.

"And you don't think it's a coincidence?" asked Snake.

"No." Before Otacon could continue, the door opened, and Raiden walked in. "How's Rose?" asked Otacon.

"She's still sick unfortunately." Replied Raiden. Rose had flown in five days ago to London to be with Jack since they had been separated for a long time. Although Raiden wasn't happy with the arrangement, she insisted and left their baby with her parents. Rose's arrival wasn't all bad, however, since she _was_ a technical analyst who helped Otacon out with analyzing the subroutines Chloe managed to recover. "Did you guys see the news?"

"Otacon already started digging around."

"Think there's a connection?" Raiden asked as he reached for the cereal.

"Looks like it." Said Snake after turning the TV off. "The guy who owns the place owns stock in Leon. Maybe he's connected with more companies that are working on Metal Gear."

"Speaking of which," Raiden began as he sat down at the table. "Any news from Ryu?"

"Nothing new." Otacon said from the while typing away at his keyboard. "He's made a few sweep over Hogwarts but it's fairly big and he's trying to keep a low profile. He _did_ say that Dumbledore is looking into the identity of Leon's attackers."

"Yeah," Snake added, "we should probably brief Ryu on the attack this morning."

While the three of them were talking, the nearby door was suddenly opened, and Rose stepped into the room with a floppy disk in her hand. "Jack, I think you should see this."

"Rose!" Raiden got up from the table, "you should be resting."

"You always worry too much Jack." She chided him, "I managed to dig up something important." She calmly walked toward Otacon and slipped the floppy into his laptop. "While I was looking over the subroutine and played around with the cipher I found some sort of corrupted data." The floppy drive hummed as the screen displayed several sets of seemingly gibberish data. "But then when I tried to restore this code I managed to find a digital signature embedded inside this data. It can basically act as key to access data inside some kind of server."

"How do we use it?" asked Snake who was attentively watching Rose's presentation.

"Well, it can't be used externally. You would have to actually access the server manually. But the good news is the signature is fairly unique and I managed to narrow it down to this location." Rose typed in a few commands and brought up a map of the United States with a red dot flashing near the San Francisco area. "You should be able to access any files inside that server."

Snake, Raiden, and Otacon all looked at each other. There was no way they were actually going to try another stunt like Leon. Snake looked at Otacon and reached into his pocket to get a cell phone. "Otacon, go call your girlfriend."

"Snake!"

"I'm serious. It looks like we may have to bring them in after all."

_Los Angeles, United States  
12:40 AM, October 31st 2003_

Chloe got up and poured her fourth cup of coffee. CTU was cast in semi-darkness with only a handful of analysts still on the floor working. She was asked to remain behind to back up some of project data since they were behind on maintenance. As she was about to take her first sip her phone started buzzing. Since it was late and no one really cared she answered the call.

"Who is it?"

"Chloe? It's Hal." The voice on the other line began.

"Why are you calling me?" she snapped back at him.

"Look, I'm sorry I hung up on you last time,"

"Yeah," she burst out, "you know in how much trouble that got me?"

"I'm sorry I just wasn't sure I could trust your boss." Otacon said apologetically.

"Tony isn't like the guys that recruited you to build Rex."

"I hope not. Listen, the reason I called you was because we managed to find something in those files from Leon." Otacon explained, "They had some kind of key encrypted in the data that could be used to access OMN servers located in San Francisco."

"So what do you want me to do?"

"The servers can't be accessed remotely. And I don't think the three of us can get inside OMN."

"So basically you want us to do your job for you?" She said somewhat irritated.

"Well," Otacon hesitated, "it's like your boss said, we could help each other out here."

Chloe thought about it for a second, and figured that Tony would get angrier at her if she didn't say anything. "I'll have him call you back in a few minutes." She closed the phone. After taking a few more sips of coffee, Chloe got up and slowly began climbing up the stairs. The drowsiness was in no way affected by coffee anymore and it took her sheer willpower to climb the cement stairs to Tony's office. She knocked on the glass door and without hearing any objections opened.

"Yeah Chloe, what is it?"

"Tony, I just got a call from Hal. He says he found something."

Tony, who seemed to have been dozing off, was somewhat awakened by that, "I thought he didn't want to involve the US Government. What did he want with us?"

Chloe hesitated, "He told me he found some kind of digital key which can access the data on an OMN server in San Francisco. The only problem is that it has to be done directly."

Tony thought for a few moments and then finally answered, "All right, I'll talk to him and see what we can work out. In the meantime get Jack in here and pull up whatever files we have on OMN at this moment."

Chloe sighed mentally, she was planning to go home soon, but apparently she would be in for some time now. She closed the door as Tony took another yawn. Some of the analysts on the floor were already leaving and a few new ones checked in. If this lead pans out, she thought, a lot more would be called back in.

_London, United Kingdom  
10:11 AM, October 31st 2003_

"This is inexcusable," Lucia roared in front of the gathered council, "never have I seen such gross incompetence from the commander of a chapter." As Lucia continued his tirade Sousuke tried his best to stare the old man down. His best wasn't effective, however, as he felt the glares from his fellow commanders, especially Wolf, burning into his back. Although the presence of his uncle was somewhat re-assuring, the disappointment of his mission was still eating away at him. "I believe," Lucia finished up, "that the duties of Commander Hoten and his chapter should be transferred to Commander Sepehr-Al-Aziz Razi of the ninth chapter and that he be indefinitely suspended from this operation."

His uncle quickly responded to the proclamation, "Isn't this somewhat drastic, Judge Lucia? While I share your sentiments regarding Sousuke's failure, suspending him for this seems somewhat hasty." Lucia and Nobu glared daggers at each other. Lucia was never a fan of the family ties between Sousuke and his uncle; however his consent wasn't a prerequisite at becoming commander. This made the relationship between Sousuke and Lucia strained at best.

"If it pleases the tribune," Sousuke intervened, "I will suspend my chapter's military operations and transfer the bulk of my operations to the ninth chapter. However there are still certain leads I would like to follow up and still remain a part of the investigation."

"I believe, commander, I had demanded a full suspension." Lucia fumed.

"Judge Lucia." The third judge spoke up, "I think commander Hoten has acquiesced sufficiently to your, demands." He paused to underscore his annoyance. "As it stands now, he has far more experience with this matter than commander Sepehr and he can still contribute to this investigation."

Lucia opted not to respond and sat down. His face was full of spite; however he was outnumbered by the other two judges. True, Lucia was the senior judge, but seniority was merely an honorific and gave him no formal power.

With the end of the session the remainder of the members had left, and Sousuke managed to breathe a sigh of relief. Standing in front of his peers and being assaulted by Lucia drained him. He had hoped that this matter would not be brought up until the next meeting; however Lucia pounced at this opportunity to call an emergency session.

As he was about to leave his uncle caught up to him. "There was no need for you to step down. We could have over-ruled him."

Sousuke nodded his head. "Lucia may be a fool, but the older commanders still follow him. If you had over-ruled him you would have split the council which would be worrisome in case we had to condemn the traitor. Besides, there is little to gain from any more combat operations. This frees up my men to keep track of what the others are doing."

Nobu smiled. "You've really grasped the politics here well. I'm impressed."

"There's still one thing that worries me." Sousuke said with a serious tone. "That man, Ocelot, knew we were coming and who we were."

"You're thinking someone told him?"

"I'm fairly certain someone has. If there was any affirmation that we have a traitor, this is it."

Nobu nodded. "I will speak with the other judges on this matter. They're worried as is, hearing these news will do nothing to ease them." Sousuke nodded and began walking away. "You're leaving soon?"

Sousuke turned around. "In a few days, after I finish up certain affairs here."

"Where to?"

Sousuke smiled. "Hogwarts."

_Hogwarts, Scotland  
7:53 PM, October 31st 2003_

Gabe poured himself another glass of pumpkin juice. The common room was in the midst of their Halloween party with everyone talking or dancing or playing games. In the corner, Ryu was standing idly around. Mr. 'Anti-Social' seemed like a cat that was afraid to touch water. Gabe walked over to him and handed him the cup. "You going to stay there the whole evening?"

Ryu took the cup from him. "That's my plan. We didn't celebrate holidays much, back during training."

"I'm telling you, you should get loose, meet some girls. Find yourself a nice loner to dance in the corner with."

Ryu shrugged off the sarcasm. "I never learned how to dance." He finished the juice in one gulp. "I think I'm going to take a walk." With slow steps he walked toward the exit to the common room after putting the glass down.

"Where are you going?"

"Wabbit hunting." He said with a smirk.

"Was that a joke?" Gabe yelled out to Ryu as he was walking out. However he didn't receive a reply.

Gabe shrugged and went back to the party. "You're just going to let him wander off?" Melanie asked.

"Yeah. Not much of a party guy that one." He looked around the room. "Incidentally, where's Cho?"

Melanie shrugged, "Probably went to sleep by now."

Outside the common room the atmosphere was completely different. It was cooler and quieter. Although the fact that suits of armor moved and the pictures followed him became somewhat annoying, he had gotten used to walking around the dimly lit corridors at night. He and Gabe had traversed most of the lower floors by now and were searching in nooks and crannies for secret passages that were mentioned in some of the books he read. However, he often wandered the corridors around by himself. It gave him time to organize his thoughts and plan out what he was going to do.

The halls were decorated for Halloween with candles, various 'fake' bats which flapped every so often, spiders, and all manner of Halloween decorations. However most of the students were already in their respective common rooms and for the most part the castle was empty. The monotony of the stone halls was broken every so often by a passing ghost. Ghosts ignored Ryu for the most part, even the poltergeist Peeves disappeared when he was around. 'They can sense death.' Gabe told him once. 'Humans who've been around death too much drive them away.'

As Ryu was climbing down the stairs he couldn't help but notice how familiar the passage had gotten for him. It wasn't that he had the map of Hogwarts memorized, it just felt so simple to go downstairs that it seemed like it was habitual. This must be what 'home' feels like, he thought.

The lower floors of Hogwarts were a bit louder since some of the students hadn't retired yet and they somewhat distracted Ryu who had gotten used to the tranquility of his tower. The last students usually went into their dormitories around 10 which was when Ryu and Gabe began their searches. Most of them were futile so far and Ryu believed Metal Gear was elsewhere, perhaps outside somewhere if at all at Hogwarts. But to find it he would need some sort of a tell, a person out of place, or an odd sign; highly unlikely.

Because it was still early, Ryu opted to go outside and enjoy the evening a bit more before heading back in. Outside it was much cooler, however not as cool as he thought. Several clouds loomed in the distance which meant it would rain later and the temperature wasn't nearly as cold because of that.

As he was looking around the grounds he noticed the dark expanse of wilderness, The Forbidden Forest. Gabe had told him it was off limits because all manner of creatures lived there. However for some reason it was calling out to him and he wanted to check it out. He began heading off towards it. It had an eerie presence, the tall trees blocked out the moon casting the forest into a hazy twilight. There were no visual or audible signs of life making Ryu's footsteps sound much louder than they were. Ryu pulled out his USP and switched the safety off. Since he was no longer in school, there was no need to be discreet about his weapons.

After twenty minutes of walking he was already submerged deep within the forest. The night was getting darker and the forest thicker making it increasingly difficult for him to see anything. Ryu sharpened his ears to compensate for the sight loss just like he was trained to.

A rustle, slight, but his ears had caught it. Without losing a moment, Ryu trained his pistol toward the source of the sound. His eyes began scanning the darkness searching for any movement or any distortion in the landscape. Night-time battles were his specialty. Because of his low difference threshold he was able to make out the faint silhouette of a person even in near-darkness. His hands reacted quickly and he aimed his pistol. "Who's there?"

There was no reaction, no surprised gasps, no wasted movement. Whoever it was either ignored Ryu on purpose or had already seen him. "It's been a while, hasn't it Ryu?"

Ryu flinched from the voice. In his momentary pause the figure descended from the branch right below him. At eye level he could already see her face. Her lavender eyes were shining in the darkness of the forest. Half-dazed, Ryu uttered the only thing his mind could tell him.

"Solitaire." he said softly in a half-greeting. As she took a few steps forward, Ryu's mind snapped back to reality. He became focused and shifted his arm so that his pistol was pointing at her face then cocked the trigger. He glared at her mercilessly, "Take another step and I'll kill you."

-End Ch. 13-

_Author's Notes:_  
-Difference threshold is a term which means how little of a difference is needed before your senses can detect a change. An example is like giving you a gradient and asking you to pick out distinct colors from it. In this case, Ryu is able to distinguish shapes in the darkness.  
-Sepehr is Persian and they have a really interesting naming structure, which is why his name is so long.  
-Next chapter is going to be all about Ryu and Solitaire's reunion and since there's a lot I want to mention and since it's going to be a fight I will take my time on it.


	16. Reunion Part 2

_**Metal Gear Ryu**_

_Summary: Metal Gear Ryu is a crossover between Harry Potter and Metal Gear Solid set as an alternative to the events of Book 6. While searching for the Metal Gear, Ryu and Philanthropy found Hogwarts and more questions. In order to find more information, Ryu remained as a student while Snake, Raiden, and Otacon followed up other leads. However, new players have shown their own determination to find the Metal Gear._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Metal Gear Solid or 24 for that matter._

_Italicized text means dialogue over nano-communication. This is communication done via nano-machines inside of a person's bloodstream.  
A backslash before the name of a person talking signifies communication done via instant messaging._

* * *

_**Ch14: Reunion - Part II**_

_Hogwarts, Scotland  
8:34 PM, October 31st 2003_

Ryu held his gun firmly while trying his best not to waver. In the midst of the dark forest he tried his best to make out the features on her face. Her face looked older than he had remembered her to be, or at least the little that he did. She was a couple inches shorter than he was, had brilliantly red hair, and hazy purple eyes which never seemed to look at the present.

"Why are you here?" he stuttered.

"I was hoping," Solitaire said somewhat with a touch of disappointment, "that you would at least say hi." Ryu stared at her, but it was no use, his mind was coming up with too many blanks. "You know why I'm here."

"Metal Gear?" Ryu asked.

"No." she replied. "I'm here to stop you." She seemed, reluctant, Ryu thought. Why would she be the only one sent to stop him?

"Don't tell me you're alone. Isn't Kage with you somewhere?" He glanced around the forest. Although he doubted it would be of any use.

She cheered up, "You remember Kage? That's a relief." Ryu looked at her puzzled. "It's why you came here right? Because you lost your memory?"

The fact that he was alive didn't surprise her at all, and it seems as if she knew a lot more about him as well. "How do you know?"

"I can tell by the dummy look on your face." She laughed. "You really don't remember much about me do you?"

"I remember," Ryu hesitated, "you used to tell us how the enemy would move so we could surprise them."

"Exactly. I'm basically a psychic." Ryu looked at her. She still seemed like the fragile little girl he remembered. Although she was taller and more mature, she still had traces of innocence and purity left within her. "I had visions of you. That's how I knew you were alive. That's how I knew you lost your memories. And that is how I found you here."

"So you can basically see the future?" Ryu asked.

"No, it's not as simple as that." She began explaining. "I may get a vision or two that is very vague. But it does tend to come true most of the time. If I focus, I can look into the close future and figure out how something will happen soon but it's really just a guess."

Ryu watched as she talked. She seemed to be on such familiar terms with him, as if she had known him all his life. She probably has, he figured. But to him, she was a stranger from a distant past. He at most could recall six or seven memories of her that were all very vague. "So, you said you wanted to stop me, right? Are you going to tell me why?"

"That's right" she said sadly; he reminded her why she was there. "Ryu, do you know why you lost your memory?"

The memory of the gunshot flashed back. "As if I could forget." He said bitterly.

She shook her head. "It wasn't the bullet that did it, nor the blood loss. Otherwise you would have much more serious brain damage. Your mind repressed your memories so that you wouldn't have to remember."

"What are you talking about?" He said sternly.

"What I'm saying is that you don't remember because your mind decided it was too painful to remember." She concluded. "I'm kind of jealous. I wouldn't want to remember anything either."

"I don't want to remember my memories," Ryu reasoned, "and yet I'm here for them. Where does this explanation start making sense?"

She smiled. "Maybe you think that you want to remember on the surface. But, somewhere within your mind, wherever your memories are still sealed, you still remember what happened, and to be honest," they stared at each other, "it's not your memories you want. You want to kill everyone, to return them the favour."

Ryu started to get irritated. "Stop acting like my therapist, Solitaire."

She didn't seem affected. "I know you at least believe me. You wouldn't be angry unless I brought up something you don't want to discuss."

'_Strange and stranger indeed. From what you harbor I suppose Slytherin might be a better match for your plans wouldn't you agree?'_ Ryu recalled the words of the Sorting Hat. "You're being a little too familiar with me, Solitaire." She slightly recoiled from his response. Ryu's breathing quickened, as he felt various demons from inside his head start pushing their way to the surface. "The way you act, you think nothing's changed in the last four years, as if we're just picking up after you had left me dying in the snow. Unfortunately," Ryu reached for his knife. "that just isn't the case for me. It's true I know your name, and I probably can mention a few things about you, but that's all. Were we friends? Did we hate each other? Have we ever fought? Or did we avoid each other all together? And it's not just you. I virtually don't know anyone or anything, including myself. I only have a few shred of what you call memories. I don't even know my real name anymore."

"Ryu, do you really think your memories will bring you any happiness? Do you think that by finding everyone else and the Metal Gear you will have some sort of fulfillment?" Her voice was rising steadily with every syllable. "You ran away once Ryu. Why are you coming back?"

The demons had already stopped raging, and Ryu's mind was calm. He stared coldly into Solitaire's eyes which were strangely focused on him. "Where is Metal Gear?" he asked plainly.

"I see." She said, also calming down, "You're just going to suppress your mind. There's no point in talking then, is there?"

"No."

"I'm sorry, Kage." She said softly. Without hesitation, she reached into one of her pockets and in a flash threw some sort of projectile. Because of the forest's darkness, Ryu couldn't see the object and had to dodge based on sound. It flew millimeters away from his left ear and lodged itself into the nearby tree.

Ryu took the object and felt it in his hand. It was a thin rectangular piece of metal with razor thin edges. "Throwing _cards_?" he asked. He didn't receive a response; however, Solitaire had already concealed herself. Ryu did a quick mental inventory: four throwing knives, and two spare pistol clips. If solitaire had prepared herself, her arsenal would be much greater giving Ryu two conclusions. First, he would have to conserve his resources and make his shots count. Second, close combat would give him the advantage. Ryu surveyed his surroundings, she would attack eventually, thereby giving up her position, which would allow him to retaliate in kind, and hopefully close the distance.

He heard a rustle behind him and wheeled quickly. Rather than keeping her distance, Solitaire charged directly at Ryu. She attacked with a direct punch, which Ryu easily swatted away. Her attack left her wide open, Ryu thought, and promptly followed it up with a quick kick which was meant to knock her to the ground. To Ryu's surprise, she merely sidestepped the attack, shifted her weight toward her other foot, and elbowed him in the stomach.

Ryu was surprised by both her movements and her strength, the force of the elbow was somewhat surprising considering her stature. While he was stumbling, Solitaire followed up with a punch then a kick which knocked Ryu backwards. Ryu recovered quickly and prepared himself for another attack however Solitaire retreated and threw several more cards which he ducked to avoid. Quickly reaching for his pistol, Ryu fired off two shots toward where he thought she would be. Both of them were wild, and he lost her again.

"You shouldn't have underestimated me." Solitaire taunted him.

Meanwhile Ryu replayed the last exchange in his head; her response to his kick began far too early to be something she reacted to really quickly. Without hesitation, Solitaire attacked once again. Her first series of attacks Ryu easily avoided, however he kept to the defensive. When she pulled back, Ryu dared a counterattack. His first set of punches was quickly blocked and countered. Although he was ready for Solitaire's responses, they were still executed very quickly and Ryu had trouble dodging them. Solitaire's breathing, however, was quickly becoming heavy, Ryu noticed, meaning stamina was on his side.

Since Solitaire was fighting fairly well due to the darkness, light rather than darkness would have to be favourable. Reaching into his pocket, Ryu pulled out his wand. With a quick incantation, the wand erupted in a stream of light akin to a torch, brightly illuminating the forest. He tossed the wand on the ground freeing up his hand. The white light of his _aube_ spell, he figured, would last for another 20 minutes.

"Looks like you picked up a few new tricks." Solitaire said as she walked into the circle of light.

"You're the one to talk." Ryu replied. "You're predicting my moves right?"

She smiled, "It took me a while to get the hang of it. But that is what my beta-gene can do."

Ryu looked at her. "What are you talking about?"

"You don't know?" She looked puzzled. "I know they mentioned it at least. Although I doubt they told you what yours does. I had to figure mine out." Ryu tried his best to recall any mention of a 'beta gene' however he couldn't. Solitaire sighed. "Well, if you can't use yours, than you really won't have a chance against the others."

"The others can do this too?" Ryu asked.

"Everyone has a different gene to match their abilities. I haven't really seen any of the others used so I suppose you'll have to figure them out yourself." She smiled. "This is my power." She pulled out another card; however this one wasn't a blank metal one. It had the words 'chariot' written on it with a picture of a man inside a chariot being pulled by two lions. In an instant, the card burst into flames and vanished.

Solitaire attacked again, however her speed nearly tripled and Ryu was unable to dodge or even block the attack. The punch she threw at him was fairly linear, however he felt like he was hit by a brick rather than a fist. His head was ringing and his vision was still recovering when she attacked again. Her attacks got faster and more savage as Ryu tried to dodge them. The strength of the attacks was so severe, however, that if she landed enough hits she could easily kill him if she wanted to.

Dodging her attacks became increasingly difficult, and his hands were getting torn up from trying to block the attacks. "At this rate," Ryu reasoned, "there'll be no point to blocking her very soon. Damn it." He missed a roundhouse kick to his ribs which sent his crashing to the ground. Despite the pain in his arms he got up and faced her again. The combination of blood and dirt in his mouth created an unpleasant taste which compounded his nausea from the pain. Solitaire wasn't doing much better, despite not being hit at all, she was sweating, and her knuckles were bleeding from the attacks she was performing.

Solitaire drew another card, 'The moon.' "It's been said," Solitaire began, "that the moon can make men mad. I wonder if it's true or not." Ryu tried his best to reason what her statement meant. Her previous card turned her into a rampaging monster. A card that made people go mad could be potentially much worse.

Hoping not to be on the receiving end of another punch, Ryu attacked first. As he came running after her, however, she seemed to keep getting further away. "Illusions?" He heard a rustle behind him, and shifted his weight so he could face her. However once again there was nothing. Her next attack came. Several cards flew at him from multiple directions making it difficult to avoid all of them. Ryu rolled away and stood back up.

His surroundings were shifting. The harder he tried to focus on any individual tree the vaguer it became. The leaves kept shifting the branches kept moving around preventing him from getting a clear picture of the surroundings in his mind. While he was trying to get a grip, more cards flew at him which he had to jump out of the way of.

She was using a completely different approach this time, Ryu thought. In both cases, she negated Ryu's advantages by either overpowering him or by preventing him from using his eyes to assess the environment. _'Once you lose control, you lose the fight.'_ That's the golden rule of combat, Ryu recalled. He closed his eyes and focused; Solitaire was worn out after her last card, now that she had used the moon card she had the advantage of having plenty of distance and plenty of opportunity to recover. If he was to spend all his time dodging these cards, it would tire him out and give her time to recover for another assault.

If he was going to win, he would have to put pressure on her. Reaching into his pouch, Ryu pulled out a throwing knife. The knife was very light with a simple curved handle to make it more aerodynamic. After a deep breath to brace for the pain, Ryu jammed the knife into his left forearm. His arms, already in pain from blocking Solitaire's previous attacks, screamed to the point where he was blinded for a second. When the pain subsided, he took the knife out. As the pain dulled, Ryu opened his eyes again. Although his vision was blurry, it was no longer under the effect of Solitaire's technique.

More cards flew at him, this time they were all from one direction. Ryu followed their path back to the area where Solitaire was hiding and then he started sprinting up towards her location. Ryu noticed movement in the trees, and he could barely make out Solitaire's form before she moved. Gripping the bloody knife by the handle to avoid it slipping, Ryu tossed it wildly toward the tree. The knife missed completely, but it got her to move. His plan was working, if he could maintain the pressure on Solitaire he had the upper hand. Ryu drew his pistol and fired several shots into the canopy. In response to his attacks, several gunshots sailed by his face. From the trajectory it seemed that Solitaire had descended and was using the tree trunks to avoid being hit.

Although Solitaire's ability of prediction would give her a bit of an advantage, combat now had more to do with concentration which Ryu desperately hung on to ignoring the pain in his left arm. The gap between them shrank, until Ryu could once again make out individual features on her face.

Solitaire reloaded first, her magazine was much smaller than his; however Ryu was running short on bullets as well. "Hey Solitaire?" Ryu yelled out. "Don't you have any cards left?"

"I don't think," she yelled. Ryu noticed that her breathing was very labored. "I'll be using those anymore." It was her turn to ask the next question. "You said you don't remember your name?"

"I don't suppose you know it?" Ryu asked. Both of them were using pauses between shots to talk.

"I forgot mine too." She said. Rain began to fall and their gunfire stopped. Ryu felt the drops of water mix with his blood and cool his body. There was going to be heavy rain after all. The light of the _aube_ spell waned earlier than he had expected, most likely due to the fighting. "Why do you want to remember it anyway? You can't use it anymore."

"Someone once told me." Ryu said, "The person, Ryu, it's just a machine and meant to be used like one. It's fine to be Ryu when I'm on a mission. But Ryu isn't a person." The rain increased rapidly and he was getting drenched. "If I was going to die, I would at least want to know who I am."

There was silence, Ryu heard the clicking of a magazine. "I never thought of it like that." She said somewhat sadly. It was the only real conversation they had, however it felt natural. Although he barely remembered her, her presence made Ryu feel content. He felt as if somehow he finally could hold onto something in his mind other than emptiness.

"It's about time we wrap this up, right?"

"Yea." Ryu cocked the hammer. They both flew out of cover almost in tandem, with their pistols aimed at each other, however neither fired. Both of them stood there, hesitating.

Despite the fact that Ryu had done nothing to her, Solitaire looked worse off than him. She seemed exhausted and her arms were bleeding, particularly her knuckles. Her hands were trembling and she couldn't keep her pistol steadily trained.

Ryu's finger was paralyzed. His entire body was protesting his order to shoot. "Why are we doing this?" Ryu whispered.

A click brought him out of his trance. His body reacted before he could stop it, as Solitaire brought the hammer back, Ryu's finger reflexively pulled the trigger. He lowered the pistol in time to avoid a head shot, however he didn't stop the bullet from hitting her lung.

"Liza!" Ryu screamed out, now in control of his body. Discarding the pistol he ran over to her as she was about to collapse. Her body was fairly frail, and the stream of blood spilled over onto Ryu's hand. She coughed a few times to try to expel the blood which would be filling up her lungs.

"You remembered." She said softly with a hint of a faint smile on her face.

Ryu stared in horror at her pistol, there was no magazine in it. She was bluffing. Ryu wanted to scream, he had killed her for no reason other than his own reflexes. If he had been less alert, less trained, less machine, he could have stopped himself. "Why did you?" There were thousands of things he wanted to say to her, but those words were the first ones to reach his mouth. She didn't hear him; one last card fell from her deck with just the number 13 on it.

"Is this, what you want, Ryu?"

-End Ch. 14-

_Author's Notes:_  
-_aube_ means dawn in french  
-Sorry for the delay, but unfortunately we have tons of tests coming up so I will be busier than expected.  
-Solitaire isn't a witch and her powers will be formally explained later, however the only magic-user in the group is Ryu.  
-The card 13 is Death, but in my deck it's not labeled as such.  
-Again, I'm not too good with fight scenes so be gentle.


	17. Intelude: Solitaire

_**Metal Gear Ryu**_

_Summary: Metal Gear Ryu is a crossover between Harry Potter and Metal Gear Solid set as an alternative to the events of Book 6. While searching for the Metal Gear, Ryu and Philanthropy found Hogwarts and more questions. In order to find more information, Ryu remained as a student while Snake, Raiden, and Otacon followed up other leads. However, new players have shown their own determination to find the Metal Gear._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Metal Gear Solid or 24 for that matter._

_Italicized text means dialogue over nano-communication. This is communication done via nano-machines inside of a person's bloodstream.  
A backslash before the name of a person talking signifies communication done via instant messaging.  
_

* * *

_**Interlude: Solitaire**_

_Recruitment Facility 'Zirka', Ukraine  
9:55 AM, October 8__th__ 1993_

The calm autumn air was filled the voices of drill instructors yelling at the top of their lungs. They were so loud he could barely get any sleep. Slowly stretching his sore arms and shaking off his sleepiness he began to take slow steps toward the other end of the training grounds where the air was quieter.

Although the temperatures were barely a few degrees above zero, he was already accustomed to the frosty mornings and the chilly afternoons. The winds pierced his thin grey shirt and ruffled his unmade hair. He had been expelled from his formation because he couldn't keep up due to the fact that his limbs were too sore from yesterday's training. In fact his commander had gotten fed up with him a long time ago and had every intention of kicking him out of the training grounds. This suited him just fine, since he never asked to be brought into the training camp anyway.

It's been a year already that he had been separated from everyone he knew, his 'family' had long since forgotten him. His 'family' being the group of kids he had been hanging out with. The older ones told him his mother left him at the clinic and he was tossed in the orphanage with the rest. Needless to say, he escaped the first chance he got. Living on the street, afterwards, was fairly straightforward: if you eat you live. Then one day a group of men found their little camp and tossed him in a van.

His past didn't make much sense to him, so he never dwelled on it. There was nothing to dwell on. His new residence did nothing to improve his conditions. For the most part all of its members were subjected to harsh training schedules, short hours of sleep, and disgusting meals. Those who couldn't keep up were tossed out on the street, the ones that stayed alive after failing.

The end of the training was not something he was looking forward to either. To graduate one had to be at the top of their peers, which would require hours of effort and the necessity to fight time after time against everyone else. Not all of these fights were supervised either, and seldom was there 2 survivors. He was very far away from that part of his training thankfully, and if he had his way, he'd be kicked out soon enough.

He had reached the other side nearby the fence and the dumpster. The odor had stopped being offensive to him ages ago, and he had long since used the bins to hide himself. Thankfully the security was lax, and he had gotten good at not being missed. As he was about to doze off he heard a conversation, or closer to an argument, begin nearby.

"Still playing with your little cards?" He heard an obnoxious voice taunt someone. Ignore it, he thought.

"Where's that grey-haired freak?" A cold gust blew across his body causing him involuntarily to shudder.

"Maybe if she screams loud enough he'll come around." Yet another annoying voice.

"I'm trying to sleep here." His mouth uttered loudly. Slowly he got up and walked out from behind the garbage bins. Somewhat groggy, and trying his best not appear aggressive, he took slow careless steps. "Could you guys move it somewhere else?"

"Since when do we listen to garbage men?" One of the three annoying voices asked rudely. There were three of them standing across from a young girl. They all had similar looks to that of most of the children in the camp: thin, slightly pale, covered in several visible cuts and bruises, dressed in grey fatigues, and short untidy hair. These three in particular appeared slightly more muscular than average, and had their clothes torn in certain ways in attempt to differentiate themselves from the rest of the kids. They had missing sleeves, X-shaped cuts on the back, or some combination of either. Why they would want to cut up their shirts and subjects themselves even more to the freezing weather was beyond his understanding.

"Since when do we listen to garbage in general?" The 'leader' of the group asked.

All three seemed to have lost interest in their original prey and now advanced towards him. He tried his best to move any muscles that weren't yet frozen to make sure he could react. Although he had been trained to fight, more or less, he was not prepared for the first punch which flew at him like a flash. His head flew back from the impact and he felt a tooth wiggle loose. Before he could recover from the first punch the second connected with his abdomen and forced him to double over in pain.

There was a huge difference in their fighting strength, which he felt with every blow landing on his body. He felt a wave of nausea overcoming his pain and causing his vision to fade in and out. He felt a sharp burst of pain on the left side of his body, which probably meant several ribs were already broken.

As he rolled over, slowly drifting into unconsciousness, he saw his aggressors all bending over and vomiting. They all seemed as if they were having a seizure. He couldn't help but wonder if perhaps the girl had done that. His eyes closed and he was left with his hearing.

"More failures." He could hear a stern voice speaking. "I'll have someone get rid of the bodies, are you all right?" The voice was young, yet it carried the same authority as any of the trainers in the facility.

"Yes. He tried to stop them." The voice of the girl replied.

"Is he dead?"

"No. But he's in a pretty bad shape."

"I'd get someone to patch him up but I don't see any point since he can't even stand up to those 3." The voice sounded as if it was walking away.

"Wait, I think he could…" The girl began.

His hearing faded, he could vaguely make out the word 'candidate', or at least he thought he did.

_Recruitment Facility 'Zirka', Ukraine  
2:41 AM, October 13__th__ 1993_

There was no time, no location. When he opened his eyes he felt a surge of soreness throughout his entire body. Every limb of his resisted the impulse to move. His bones creaked as he tried to lift up his arm. His body felt as if it had a two-ton weight pressed against his chest.

The room he was in was very Spartan in its furnishings. There were at least a dozen medical beds in two rows spanning the room. Each had identical neatly arranged white bed sheets, however he was the only person in the room. The walls and the ceiling were the same cement gray as all of the buildings inside the compound. The walls had no windows, and the only sources of light were the two light bulbs that were hanging from the ceiling. There were two brown doors, both identical and plain. As he attempted to get up he noted another peculiarity of his situation: his hands were bound to the bed.

As he attempted to pull on the chains his arms gave off a twinge of pain. He looked at them and found that he had red rings, identical to his shackles on his arms, which hurt at the mere contact with his bonds.

"Sorry about that, but if we didn't restrain you, you would have ripped your skin off from the pain." The voice was the same commanding voice he heard before. He looked over to find a moderately tall boy with pitch black short hair sitting near his blind spot to his left. He was wearing a gray shirt as well as uniform pants and an officer's hat. He had pitch black eyes which matched the color of his hair. His face was smooth, devoid of bruises and had a gruff look akin to that of all the officers he had to deal with earlier.

"Wh.." He tried to speak, however his voice had barely any volume and his throat was so dry that it was physically painful for him to make a sound.

"You shouldn't try to speak either. You were screaming so much it gave the surgeons a headache." He cautioned. "Where should I begin?" He got up and walked over to where he could see "I'm basically your new comrade, my job is going to be showing you how to excel." He said eloquently. "I have read a bit about you from the trainers. You are a 'slacker' who ignored trainers and shirked responsibility. Well whether you like it or not that life will end. You now have power, but it comes with a cost. In order to excel you must survive first. Those three that beat you up failed to survive, which was somewhat of a disappointment. I expect you to supersede their shortcomings. If you do, congratulations, if you don't." He paused. "Well, you know." He got up and began walking toward the door. "I shall be monitoring your progress. I wish you the best of luck." He got up and walked off. "Try not to move too much, let your body adjust." He said as he closed the door.

He turned his head toward the ceiling and began to take in what his visitor had just said. His body felt no different, ignoring its battered state. He didn't _feel_ any stronger than he had when those three hulks used his body as a punching bag. His throat was horribly sore and dry which prevented any attempt of his to speak. He felt weak, as if he was sick, his body was difficult to move, and his arms felt very sore. As he looked over his body he found a number of bruises on it. He was wearing a loose hospital gown and the thin sheets allowed the wind to freeze his skin.

The door to his left creaked open, and the same young girl from before walked into the door. She had fairly long bright orange hair as well as deep lavender eyes. "You're awake." She said softly.

"Who are you?" He uttered hoarsely.

"You saved me, remember?" She said with a smile on her face. Throughout their conversation, she seemed to avoid looking at him. Her eyes were always wandering as if looking for something in the monotonous room. Her voice was very soft when she spoke, as if she preferred to keep to herself and not talk much. "Although, I thought you would actually be able to beat them." She seemed a bit disappointed.

He kept silent at that statement, she noticed that and quickly corrected. "Don't worry, that's because I didn't listen to what they told me."

"Who?"

She finally turned and looked toward him. "The cards."

"The cards?" He looked over at her with an expression of confusion.

She nodded and took out a small box. It was a bit worn with somewhat faded edges. The picture on the front had been a bit dirtied and scratched out but there were still an image of a young boy with no care in the world standing on the precipice of a cliff. Carefully, she opened the box and removed the deck of cards with the utmost care.

Unlike normal cards, these were larger, and more elongated, with elaborate pictures drawn on the front. The deck was thicker, and the jacket seemed a bit more ornate than the usual deck of cards. With care, she began to shuffle the cards and eventually placed the deck face down on the table.

Slowly she flipped over the first card, "The Fool." She calmly placed it on the table in front of him. It was the same picture as there was on the cover of the deck. A young boy standing with his dog on the precipice of a cliff. The Card had '0' written at the bottom. "So you were the fool." She said with a tone of realization.

He couldn't help but scowl at her. He did try to help her out back then and she was now calling him a fool. Sensing his reaction she began to talk again. "It's not a bad thing. The fool is the beginning. Someone who is full of potential, not quite the magician, but still very powerful." She said with an air of mysticism. She flipped over another card, _The Magician_, which had a number 1 on the bottom. She looked over it with a strange expression, as if she was analyzing a math equation. She flipped another card over, _The High Priestess_, with a number 2. The third card confused her even further. She retracted the cards into her deck and reshuffled. She dealt the first 3 cards which were the same cards she had drawn earlier in the exact same order. She looked over them again, smiled, and put the back in her deck.

She got up, without saying a word, and turned around toward the door. Quickly she began walking away and just as she was out the door she turned around, "I'm sorry, I have to go. I'm Liza by the way." With that she left and he remained alone in the room.

_- _End Interlude-

_Author's Notes:_  
-So this story was on an unofficial hiatus until I finally got a bit of a push to finish this up  
-I might have residual writer's block but I'll try to get another update soon  
-The interludes are told from Ryu's point of view but I avoided using his name since he didn't have it yet.  
-This chapter will also introduce the Fool's Journey which I was debating on adding


	18. Lesson

_**Metal Gear Ryu**_

_Summary: Metal Gear Ryu is a crossover between Harry Potter and Metal Gear Solid set as an alternative to the events of Book 6. While searching for the Metal Gear, Ryu and Philanthropy found Hogwarts and more questions. In order to find more information, Ryu remained as a student while Snake, Raiden, and Otacon followed up other leads. However, new players have shown their own determination to find the Metal Gear._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Metal Gear Solid or 24 for that matter._

_Italicized text means dialogue over nano-communication. This is communication done via nano-machines inside of a person's bloodstream._  
_A backslash before the name of a person talking signifies communication done via instant messaging._

* * *

_**Ch15: Lesson**_

_Hogwarts, Scotland_  
_10:20 AM, November 3rd 2003_

"Today we'll finally enter the mystic realm of the cards." Her voice drilled into Ryu's thoughts. Despite the weather more and more resembling winter, Ryu found himself stuck inside the hot and stuffy divination room. No matter how much he concentrated he couldn't bring himself to focus for more than a minute at a time on his incompetent professor.

'Professor' Trelawney normally spent the lesson demonstrating how to use star charts, tea leaves, or crystal balls to predict the future; however Ryu found himself having difficulty focusing on any one of these lectures. The room was lined with the scents of various perfumes, scented candles, and incense that created a soporific effect. While normally he held out listening to her for half an hour or so before giving up and shifting his thoughts elsewhere, today it was nearly impossible to rein his consciousness in.

No matter how hard he tried he felt himself coming back to the moment of Solitaire's death. However, his feelings toward it were harder to pin down. His initial response could be called, shock, he reasoned. It took him nearly an hour to realize he was kneeling, holding a dead girl in his hands. Then, the numbness wore off, and he felt pain akin to being dipped in a vat of acid and then set on fire. It was so painful that he wanted to scream out into the night in vain hope that the pain would subside. However despite being drenched, fatigued, and on the verge of a breakdown he stood up. He dragged the small girl into a cavern where her body would be concealed, then used some rocks and trees to make sure she stayed that way. Nature would take care of the rest.

"The standard deck is composed of the major and the minor arcana…"

After that day, he spent three days barricaded in his room just sitting and thinking. He felt his mind was torn apart completely, one part of him wanted to scream and rip his flesh off in hopes that the physical pain would somehow erase the one dwelling in his head. However, another part of him questioned his excessive emotional reaction. He had done nothing wrong, it reasoned, it was merely self-defense. And although she had tricked him, she did indeed pull out the gun with the intent of provoking him. He had acted prematurely, but it was self-defense nonetheless. No matter how he assaulted this calm persona with his questions intent of forcing him to submit under the torrent of fury boiling up inside of him, he replied calmly and plainly like a rock. And so for three days he continued this internal dialogue with himself and clung to this voice of calm reason.

"The cards represent, in a certain way, ourselves in the sense that they are symbols of our own lives with which we can gaze deeply into our pasts, into our presents, and into our futures." He snapped out of his trance for a few minutes to note that some students were chatting, a pair of girls were eagerly taking notes, and most of the others were vacantly staring off pretending to listen to what she was saying.

Within seconds his internal sparing resumed. The topic was the usual: _Why did I shoot her?_

_You didn't have a choice._ The response came promptly. _Would you rather have been shot and left to die, again?_ He didn't imagine the slight emphasis on that last word.

_But she didn't have her gun loaded, if I didn't…_

His doppelganger cut him off, _How would you have known? There was no rational reason. _

"We will begin with the fool's journey." Ryu snapped out of his conversation, those words were very familiar. As he recalled, Solitaire once told him something like this. "The journey begins with the first card, the fool…"

The fool, that was him, as he recalled. The young man staring of into the precipice about to embark on his journey with no knowledge of what he would get himself into. _And fall into the abyss._ Ryu thought sardonically.

_Focus!_ The voice once again resounded in his head. _Solitaire's presence isn't a coincidence. What does it mean?_

His doppelganger performed two tasks primarily: keeping him sane, and keeping him distracted, although the latter could easily be seen as an extension of the former. It would often distract him by bringing up the task at hand.

"The fool represents both potential and naïveté, almost like a child, someone who has nothing but will soon gain everything if they do not falter on their path…" The echo of Professor Trelawney's lecture echoed in his dream-like limbo. A child, that was certainly descriptive of him back then.

_You're certainly acting like one._ The sarcastic response drowned out his thoughts

_She had arrived recently, _Ryu continued his dialogue, _she was wearing human clothes and no sign of any sort of uniform or body armor. If she had been tailing me it's doubtful she would have come so unprepared. _He found it easier to discuss details to keep the topic from becoming too personal.

"The next card," her voice punctured his thinking, "is The Magician."

_London, The United Kingdom_  
_11:00 AM, November 3rd 2003_

The gunfire died down as his teams proceeded to walk over the dead bodies to check if anyone was still alive. After a few minutes the comlink buzzed with several "All clear" responses. Within seconds the floor was clear of bodies and both of his teams were chatting idly. Their practice run was over. "Good work, debrief in 10." He waved them off casually and walked off from the practice room.

While he wasn't usually attending, let alone participating in these exercises, Sousuke had been cursing himself since his raid for his lack of cautiousness and his cocky belief in his one on one skills. Teamwork and tactical ability were important in these operations and he had let his own atrophy. Perhaps it was guilt that was driving him to these practice sessions but he wanted to feel better about his ability to lead and support his men if his next move was to succeed.

Looking for Metal Gear has yielded a huge zero for their division, and several people, including himself, were growing somewhat impatient. Tracking the Metal Gear in the present seems to be proving difficult so, on the 'advice' that Ocelot has given him, he decided to track it in the past.

With a loud clang he closed his locker and went over to wash the sweat of his face. He seemed to be sleeping less lately, and the adrenaline rush from practice left him feeling tired rather than energized. He let the cold water splash his face and flow down into the sink. His eyes seemed half shut, and his face was slightly pale, arguing with Lucia did take a lot out of him. His hair, while a bit unkempt was bright and red. He had neglected dyeing for quite some time.

"You don't look well, are you sure you want to do this?" The comforting voice of his uncle floated into his ear. Sousuke looked over and found his uncle standing behind him next to one of the lockers.

"Have you seen my report?" He replied somewhat groggily.

"Yes, quite impressive work for such a short amount of time." He motioned with his hand toward the door which opened. "Care for some breakfast?"

The smell of freshly brewed coffee woke him up somewhat and the aroma of eggs and bacon with fresh toast incited his appetite as well. Although he seemed somewhat wary of piling up so much food on his plate, however he only received a smile from his uncle. "You haven't been eating much lately?" He said knowingly. Sousuke bowed his head thankfully and took a few bites. The warm food seemed to melt in his mouth and spread energy throughout his entire body. After clearing his plate and having seconds with dessert did he finally feel wide awake; however he was sure the coffee had something to do with it as well.

After their plates have been cleared he looked up at his uncle who was still sipping coffee and cleared his throat. They were in his uncle's office which meant that they would not be overheard.

"Military Research Project, _Bozhya Vlast'_" Sousuke began, "or 'God's Domain' began in the last years of the Soviet Union as an attempt to enhance the ranks of their agents."

"God's Domain? I was under the impression the Soviets never cared much for religion." His uncle quipped.

"Therein lies the irony I suppose." Sousuke mused, "The primary focus of the research began with genetic experimentation and augmentation." His uncle nodded at the answer to his question and motioned him to continue. "There is virtually no data on it in existence even the name was nearly impossible to dig up. However we do know that it continued even after the fall under the direction of Dragonic Ethics."

He sighed and opened the manila folder in front of him with his report. Much of this was hazy speculation based on very vague information. He had to call in multiple contacts just to gather everything he had now. While time would yield more answers, he was uneasy and wanted answers now rather than later.

"There were camps throughout the entire former Soviet Bloc that participated in this projects however the majority of the 'experiments' yielded bodies. As a matter of fact, only six successes were confirmed by the records." He took out six pieces of paper from the folder. They had pictures of children in their teens, the oldest looked 16-17 years of age, as well as some scrambled writing, most of which was illegible. His uncle looked over them and nodded pensively before sliding them back to Sousuke who placed them carefully back into his folder and continued. "Within the last decade there was a paradigm shift in the facility. Several factors played into this: budget limitations, the decline of Russia and the former soviet countries, as well as the discovery and experimental research with magic."

His uncle raised an eyebrow "Magic, by normal humans? Why didn't we interfere?"

Sousuke stuttered a bit. The records the inquisitors had were vague about this. "I'm not sure, it was most likely too low scale for us to have noticed. Besides, since most of the magical community escaped the country after the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 we had few sources we could go on. However the lack of explanation for the rest of this is very much troublesome."

Again his uncle nodded and motioned him to continue.

"The next part of this history is somewhat fragmented. Judging by the shift in research and training methods, Dragonic Ethics seemed to have focused more on WMD development rather than creating agents. Since they only had six successes in the genetic department, they decided to integrate them somehow with the new project which brings us to Metal Gear."

The next papers he removed included photos and damaged schematics of the weapon's design. Some of the markings on the pieces of paper seemed like some scribbles made by engineers calculating some odd values, however he knew better. Some of those equations were actually energy calculations required to stabilize certain enchantments.

"Gregoryi's Postulate?" His uncle asked as he leafed through the documents. "This is fairly complicated magic. I'm surprised they worked it out to this extent." Gergoryi's Postulate was an unproven theorem, Sosuke remembered, about continuous and extended levitation of excessively large structures like castles and possibly islands. While fairly efficient theoretically, it was never fully completed due to its complexity and difficulty to employ.

"As you can see, the design incorporated both magic and technology to bring in the best of both worlds. I'm somewhat disappointed we didn't think of it first." Sousuke added. "How we missed all of this is questionable, however according to the data, the project began to attract unwanted attention. The incidents in the United States with regard to their Metal Gears didn't help in the least bit either. As the hands of the Patriots swept into Russia, the project was terminated and the attached unit was disbanded. That's all the project data I could gather."

"There are a lot of unanswered questions in your story."

Sousuke nodded at the observation. "I'm not quite happy with the results either. However we do have something to go on. Knowing what I did from those reports and with a little help I managed to look up some of the old bases for this project. Some of them had a lot of construction going on in the last few years. One base in Yugoslavia was somewhat, careless, in its secrecy." He motioned to the newspaper clippings as well as the UN memo.

"So the UN stepped in and got Philanthropy involved?"

"Yes. However, they were unsuccessful in destroying the Metal Gear. It managed to escape and then relocate to Britain."

"With Voldemort supposedly on the rise and the knowledge of American Metal Gear Development," his uncle reasoned "an offer from Dragonic Ethics to both the British Ministry of Magic and parliament to develop something like this would sound tempting naturally."

"And thus Project Pegasus was implemented." Sousuke finished.

"One thing still puzzles me however," his uncle interrupted him. "You said that you were told to seek the pilot."

Sousuke nodded. "Figuring out the pilot's identity led me to look for the Metal Gear's origins in the first place." He took out an envelope with several additional intel his men had managed to gather and passed it to his uncle. "We tried to track down those six, however we managed to only find one."

His uncle flipped through a few pages and found a medical report dating 4 years ago. "Two bullet wounds, hypothermia, exhaustion, and retrograde amnesia." He listed off the symptoms. "I'm surprised he even lived." He listed through the rest of the info including several pictures recently taken as well as internet logs and phone conversations. "Is he the pilot?"

Sousuke frowned, "I have no idea. But it's highly likely he's after the Metal Gear. Besides, what better place to hide something like that from Voldemort than Hogwarts?"

"I was under the impression that the current headmaster, Albus Dumbledore I believe, wasn't particularly happy with the British ministry."

"I've plenty of other things I'd like to find out." Sousuke concluded. "That is but one of them."

"So this expedition, won't it be breaching the suspension of your chapter?"

"My chapter isn't coming, only myself and a few trusted men as," he paused, "bodyguards I suppose. I'm sure Lucia will consent to that."

"You'd be surprised," his uncle smirked, "but we can handle that. Your preparations are in order?"

Sousuke nodded. "I'm leaving in a few hours."

"I'm awaiting some answers from you." His uncle said standing up.

Sousuke nodded and bowed to his uncle before exiting the room.

_Hogwarts, Scotland_  
_12:00 PM, November 3rd 2003_

Walking out of Ancient Runes was a welcome release for Gabriel. While he thought the subject of new languages, particularly magically potent ones, was incredibly interesting back in his 3rd year, after spending 4 years memorizing complex language structures and hundreds of characters he found himself having problems keeping them all straight. With the recent turn of events it's been even harder.

Gabe sighed as he rubbed his forehead in an attempt to ward off the incoming headache. He was still debating whether or not he should tell his parents. However even assuming that they believed him and didn't cart him off to St. Mungo's, they would throw an eppy. He could see his dad screaming about how the "bloody magical ministry" was worse than even parliament. His mum would be sitting and trying to say something to make him relax.

He sighed. No, he wasn't telling his parents any time soon. The next problem of course was,

"All right Gabe?" He looked over and saw some of his friends catch up behind him. Elliot Southwood, the kid who spoke, was one of his roommates and they usually got along fine, although he was much more studious than Gabe. Behind him was Marietta who was talking to a slightly more upbeat Cho. "Joining us for lunch?"

Snapping out of his thoughts Gabe replied, "Sure, I could use some food after that." The classes this year were taking more and more out of him than ever. "Don't think I'll ever make sense of Gallic." Elliot smiled ruefully in agreement.

He was about to ask the others about having a quick study session when Marietta's comment forced his train of thought to revert back to its original destination "Hey look there's Ryu." She said, enthused. Abandoning her previous conversation and a somewhat surprised Cho, she ran over to him. "Hey Ryu! Want to join us for," she was completely ignored as he effortlessly walked past her as if the two of them were in completely different parts of the world. "lunch?" She finished her statement on a rather soft note.

Ignoring Marietta's hurt expression, Gabe was looking over his other problem. Three days ago on Halloween Ryu left their little party and was gone for several hours. By the time he returned to the common room where Gabe was waiting up for him, it was as if a switch was thrown. Instead of his semi-amusing "nonchalant" expression there was now the face of a boy who was just told his parents didn't love him: lost, confused, alone. It was the first time, Gabe noted, he saw something other than his usual cold demeanor. The boy was drenched from the rain, covered in mud, and breathing heavily as if he just sprinted around the castle. His hands and shirt were covered with dried blood which set off alarms in Gabe's head. Before Gabe could say anything, though, Ryu sped off into his room and bolted the door. Gabe's efforts to get Ryu to open the door were in vain and he dared not force his way in while Ryu was in that state. Surrendering he tried his best to make out what was going on behind the doors to only hear the sound of a shower running.

The next few days Ryu's moods managed to come from every range of the emotional spectrum. Sometimes he was quiet and replied, if he even did, in a subdued monotone. Other times he lashed out at anyone who dared say a word to him, much to the terror of one of the Hufflepuffs in their Transfiguration class. Now, however, he was no longer wearing that catatonic façade that accompanied since Halloween. His steps were determined and precise as he crossed the hallway, his body was rigid, coiled, like a serpent before striking its prey. It took Gabe a few minutes before he realized what was so off putting about his expression. His eyes. While normally light grey and seemingly translucent, they were now two blazing violet orbs. It looked as though he was on a warpath.

"'Scuse me?" Gabe wheeled to face the person addressing him. He found himself facing a fairly tall brown haired guy about the same age as him. He was tall, standing almost 2 metres, and looked as if he had put his hands into an electric socket recently. His brown, curly hair was messily frayed out in a large orb and was constantly on its end. He had a faint outline of a scar on his left cheek and had two bright green eyes. As Gabe continued to scan the newcomer, he cracked a wide grin, "you lot wouldn't know the way to the potions room?" He said cheerfully.

Something was off, Gabe reasoned. He looked like he was in the same year as them, and his height should have made him easily recognizable to anyone, Gabe thought as he answered his question. Then there was the fact that he was wearing non-descript black robes which did not bear the insignia of any house. The harder he thought about it, however, the more absurd it seemed. None of his friends seemed to find the matter the least bit suspicious. He smiled inwardly, perhaps this whole Metal Gear business has shot his nerves too much.

Thanking him for the explanation, the new kid began to make his way toward the Great Hall. Feeling the need to satisfy his rampant curiosity Gabe called out after him, "I haven't seen you around anywhere before, you new?" To his surprise the guy nodded as if he understood completely.

"My name's Rai, pleased to meet you."

-End Ch. 15-

_Author's Notes:_  
-Still not dead, nope. I'll be trying to restore an updating scheduele.


	19. Cooperation

_**Metal Gear Ryu**_

_Summary: Metal Gear Ryu is a crossover between Harry Potter and Metal Gear Solid set as an alternative to the events of Book 6. Suffering from the death of his former friend Ryu focuses on Metal Gear as his past slowly catches up to him. In the meantime Snake and Philanthropy work with CTU to attempt to understand the forces at work which are pushing the US and UK into conflict as Sousuke attempts to unravel the uncertainties in his own organization as well as acquire the Metal Gear before it is used._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Metal Gear Solid or 24 for that matter._

_Italicized text means dialogue over nano-communication. This is communication done via nano-machines inside of a person's bloodstream._

_A backslash before the name of a person talking signifies communication done via instant messaging._

* * *

_**Ch16: Cooperation**_

_Los Angeles, United States  
9:13 AM, November 3__rd__ 2003_

Chloe O'Brian rubbed her eyes and sighed, she hated all-nighters. She had pulled a few in the last few days and it looked like she was about to pull one again. Ever since Hal's phone call three days ago they were constantly trying to incorporate the new facts into their investigation. Sipping her coffee she looked over the computer screen that had finally booted up. This was going to be a long day.

"Chloe!" she held back her response as she heard Tony's voice crack like a whip. "I need you in my office."

Obeying her summons Chloe stomped up the stairs toward Tony's glass-encased office. She hated work so early in the morning and whatever Tony had for her it better be something she could take her time working on.

"I just got a call from Washington." Tony began in his 'serious' voice the instant she crossed the threshold of his office. "The British case has been pushed up to high priority by Homeland Security." He continued explaining. "Get everyone in the briefing room in 5 minutes. We're switching to Alpha-Class Security Protocols" He finished.

Chloe nodded and turned around, "Yes sir."

This was bad, Chloe thought. He looked the same way he had when he found out Jack was going to fly a live nuke into the dessert in an attempt to prevent civilian casualties. She walked briskly toward her office. Homeland Security stepping in meant that the situation in Britain has already reached the Presidential Cabinet, if not the president himself. She looked over the unsent emails hanging over her desktop screen. With a click she cleared her screen and looked over the bullpen where all of the analysts and technicians were working on their various assignments.

"Can I get everyone's attention please?" Chloe began in a loud but somewhat shaky voice. She still disliked addressing the public. "I need everyone to finish up what they were doing. As of now we are switching to Alpha security protocols." A wave of murmurs and confused glances swept across the floor as the member of CTU tried to guess why such high level protocols were in place. The ones who were finishing up their late shift looked particularly displeased at this turn of events and glared up at Chloe. They would be forced to remain here rather than going home. "I need everyone to back up all of their data and encrypt it before sending me their files. There should be no external communication and everything that's going to happen in CTU is considered classified by the U.S. Government. Route all your tasks and outgoing and ingoing communication through me." She explained the protocol. Some of the new faces looked a bit scared hearing these orders. "I need the heads of all departments to meet in the conference room in 5 minutes." With that she walked toward her office to avoid scrutiny about the new orders. After taking a few short breaths she picked up her data files and began making her way down to the conference room.

It had taken everyone a few minutes to assemble in the glass-encased conference room on the ground floor. Surrounding Chloe were several department chairs all sitting in their leather seats, each with their laptop open waiting for Tony to begin the briefing.

"Before I begin the briefing, I'd like to remind everyone that the information disclosed here is considered classified by the U.S. government. Furthermore, what I say here, stays in this room." Tony began in a low tone. With a few clicks the screen began shuffling through pictures of a man with neatly combed dirty blonde hair and a grey suit in various locations. "This man's name is Michael Hastings. Up until recently he has been our informer in the British Embassy. Three days ago, we lost communications with him. He is presumed dead." Tony began in a neutral voice. The slide show switched to a satellite feed overlooking a white-grey structure surrounded by barbed fence. After a few minutes the feed turned into static before resuming a few seconds later. However the time signature jumped forward several hours. "This feed is overlooking an OMN Tech testing site near Bristol. As you can see, our surveillance was somehow interrupted by what we assume was a remote hacking attempt. Unfortunately we were unable to trace this hack."

"When was this attack executed?" One of the analysts asked Tony.

"It happened approximately three weeks ago." Tony said shifting the picture to a large map of Britain. "According to other satellites, however, we are able to confirm spiked levels of gamma radiation during that time."

"A Nuclear test?"

"That is the current assumption." Tony said narrowing his eyes, as he was getting to the point. "13 hours ago the CIA servers at Langely have been compromised."

"Do we know what they were after?" Asked Chloe.

"According to the report, they managed to get a copy of major ballistic missile stations and air bases that house long range strategic bombers as well as a detailed grid of our anti-air defense, flight paterns, and current fleet deployments. We've also confirmed that the origin of the attack was from Britain."

"3 dead agents and then compromising our satellite surveillance means they're blacking us out." growled Jack, "A nuclear test and a complete report on our defenses means a pre-emptive strike?"

"That's the probable scenario." Replied Tony.

"Are they nuts?" Everyone turned to the source of the outburst. "There's no way they could take all of our MAD systems. It's impossible."

"What if they had a Metal Gear?" An unshaven brown-haired man who Chloe could have sworn was not there a minute ago asked. Both Jack and Chase simultaneously looked up at the newcomer. "Sorry I'm late Mr. Almeida, we spoke on the phone earlier."

Tony, without any sort of reaction turned toward the visitor. "Everyone, this is Iroquois Pliskin, he's with Philanthropy, a U.N. backed non-proliferation group. He will be giving you the second half of this briefing." With a curt nod, he sat down.

The man, Pliskin, replaced Tony at the head of the table and began speaking, "As you all know, there are credible suspicions to the presence of a new Metal Gear that is currently being developed in Britain, under the codename Project Pegasus."

Several subdued nods motioned him to go on.

"Recently, our organization has been investigating these rumors, and our evidence so far has lead us to believe that they are credible, and that this new Metal Gear is being developed by several Defense Technology Firms, some of which, you may have seen in the news recently."

The monitors switched to a display of a list of military corporations, several being highlighted. Scanning the list, Chloe found that OMN Tech was a member.

"The companies highlighted in red are ones that are tied under an umbrella corporation called Dragonic Ethics. They are also responsible for the critical components required for a Metal Gear."

The view shifted one more time to a detailed 3-D model of, what Chloe could vaguely tell, was a Metal Gear. Unlike the models she had a chance to study: Rex, Ray, and a few copies, this one was clearly more sophisticated. According to the scale and a few rough calculations, it was four times the size of Metal Gear Ray. She clearly made out the locations where the nuclear weapons would be stocked. Also judging by the design of the wings it was an aerial model, or one capable of sustained flight.

"One of my teammates composed this model based on the data we have acquired on the new Metal Gear design," he continued as several part of the wire-frame were blown up, "The nuclear yield for this Metal Gear, assuming Britain's current arsenal, is in the hundreds of thousands Megatons. Also judging by some of the design features, it would be capable of engaging other weapon systems, including interceptor jets, submarines, ground forces, and other Metal Gears. Among other things, it's capable of high altitude, high speed, sustained flight. Essentially it's a powerful first-strike weapons platform."

As he concluded, Chloe scanned the room to see the expressions on several people's faces. Some seemed shocked, most people, including Jack, Tony, and Chase, however, were somber and displaying something akin to a poker face.

"So they're really going through with this? They're almost inviting nuclear war." One of senior analysts spoke out. A few others expressed similar concerns silently.

"Not necessarily," several people looked up at Jack, "it can be a ploy for Britain to project power globally; especially considering the domestic situation over there right now."

"An asset like that is useless if people know about it, someone will develop a better version in time and it becomes just another deterrent. The benefit of this Metal Gear is surprise. Also, bear in mind we discovered this thing is Eastern Europe, Britain isn't necessarily the only player." Snake retorted.

"The Department of Defense is handling the conjecture, our job is to find out what its capabilities and purpose are." Tony said, standing up and resuming control.

"As of now," he continued, "our only lead is a digital key we can use to access OMN servers in San Francisco." The schematics of a large, well-fortified compound appeared in concert with Tony's words. "Going about this the legal way is lengthy, and most likely won't yield us any information that we can use in time; therefore we are planning on carrying a small-scale surgical strike."

He paused at that, Chloe assumed he was waiting for any objections to his idea, but no one voiced any. "The most effective way we can enter the compound, however, is a night-time HALO insertion." With that there was another pause. This time there was more visible concern on the faces of the analysts as well as the tactical leaders.

"What about a low altitude insertion, possibly via helicopter?" Asked Chase after at least a minute of silence.

"We would most likely be met with resistance," Tony replied, "a helicopter insertion is far more conspicuous and risky than HALO at this point."

"What mission parameters are we looking at here?" asked Jack. He didn't seem too happy about this turn of events, Chloe thought.

"We're looking at a 5-man team insertion; small enough to safely navigate into the compound, and avoid significant gunfire on entry. In order to assist you, we are planning to initiate a blackout within that entire block."

"What about emergency generators?" Pliskin asked.

"Our plan involves taking out power in a way where the emergency generators will be disabled as well." Tony explained.

"You're talking about an EMP blast?" asked Jack standing up. "You can't be serious here Tony, you'll send the city into a panic."

"Sit down Jack," said Tony finally raising his voice, "this will be a contained blast, it will only disable the power for twenty minutes in the area of a few blocks. We'll have police on stand-by to prevent panic. It will be your job to take advantage of the distractions to enter into building and extract the relevant data from the servers."

"You said 5-man team," said Chase cautiously, "who is coming?"

"You and Jack are the CTU operatives," Tony explained before facing their newcomer, "we'll also have Pliskin, and 2 of his teammates from philanthropy joining the insertion team as well as several of their co-workers joining us at the control center."

Processing what she just heard, Chloe finally spoke up, "Is Hal coming with you?"

They would need someone in the field who would be able to get into the server, bypass internal security, and access and extract the relevant data. Since Jack and Chase were the only CTU operatives coming, that left Hal as the candidate for insertion.

"No, he'll be staying at control." Pliskin replied rather tartly, "and outside this room his codename is Otacon. The remaining agents are people who I have, worked with earlier. Rest assured they're dependable."

It didn't satisfy her curiosity, however, "Who will deal with the servers? If it's not Ha," before she finished Pliskin's scowl stopped her, "I meant Otacon, then it would have to be someone from CTU."

"According to him," Pliskin replied, "as long as someone is physically present at the servers, it's possible to remotely access them. I'm sure Otacon will fill you in on the details later. This way the 5-man team will be composed of trained soldiers rather than technicians."

Taking a few deep breaths Chloe sat back down and allowed the briefing to continue, "Since a HALO operation is still very risky, one of the members will be present at the site prior to insertion to make sure that we can descend safely."

"How are you getting a member inside? The compound is supposed to be impenetrable." Asked Chase.

"Not all of it is equally well defended; just let my operatives do their job. They can get in there." He said definitively.

The rest of the meeting was spent going over the details of the insertion plan and how to navigate the internal corridors of OMN Tech's compound. Detailed schematics, security patrol schedules, and weapon load-outs were discussed. Naturally since this operation could not be officially sanctioned by the U.S. government, precautions were taken to assure safe exfiltration of the unit. Much to Chloe's annoyance, and possibly others' as well, Pliskin was very generic about his description of his resources. While Chloe had never bothered looking into the organization known as Philanthropy, she assumed that since it was sanctioned by the U.N. then it's operations were legitimate. Pliskin's manner of speaking and description lead her wonder just what _kind_ of an organization was Philanthropy anyway.

Another issue bother Chloe was her impending reunion with Hal Emmerich. She had not spoken with him in years after they broke off their relationship, and now she was about to be forced to work together with him on such a critical mission.

The remaining analysts on the floor were put to work in various areas: assisting the planning of the operation, research into the attack on the servers at Langley, and analyzing the data regarding the Metal Gear. Judging by the behavior of her group of analysts, not everyone was particularly happy about finding out that Britain was possibly planning a nuclear attack on the US, and the feeling was probably shared across the floor. Her main concern was that someone would break protocol and contact someone outside of CTU, something which could easily cause a lot of trouble if the media picked up on it.

_Los Angeles, United States  
3:16 AM, November 4__th__ 2003_

LA wasn't a quiet town. Despite the fact that the room was fifteen stories high, the sound of cars running by, and people talking, could still be heard as loudly as if one was at the ground level with them. The window provided the glowing overview of the cityscape, a sea of lights formed around the spires of the skyscrapers at the heart of the city. In contrast, the room itself was dark, however neither of its occupants felt much like sleeping.

"David?" Snake grunted; he wasn't used to hearing his name spoken.

"What's on your mind?"

His companion, Jack, walked toward the window, "Who's going to be the third person? I didn't know we had someone else in Philanthropy."

Snake stayed silent for a while, not sure how to describe their upcoming companion. "The best thing I can tell you about her is that she's a little different."

"How so?"

"She's a test subject, like the two of us, I guess. Her name is Venus."

Raiden seemed to think over what Snake was saying, and remained silent, motioning him to continue.

"I assume that's her real name, she never gave me another one. She and I worked together. It happened during an investigation of a Metal Gear designed by a corporation known as SaintLogic. She's somewhat cold, I'll tell you this much. But she's good at what she does, and she already managed to get into OMN. She'll be our contact on the ground."

Raiden nodded. "So, when's the D-Day?"

"A week from now. We still need to arrange a lot of the details."

"We should let Ryu know about the situation. See if he knows anything. He's been silent for a while." Raiden suggested.

"Something's wrong, I'm just not sure what," replied Snake, "he's not doing well."

"What do you mean?"

"He's out of it, I can tell he's not been getting a lot of sleep lately. He seems edgy, and our conversations have become very short and vague. I think there's another player where he is that he's wary of."

"Who else would be down there Snake?"

"One of his former teammates showed up," Snake summarized his conversation with Ryu from yesterday, "it seems that they fought, and now she's dead. He thinks others will be there soon. It's not affecting him well."

"His amnesia?"

"That's my guess." Turning away from the windows Snake made his way toward the bed in the left corner. There wasn't much in their room, it remained pretty Spartan.

"I'll see you in the morning."

-End Ch. 16-

_Author's Notes:_  
-Ok so, yay, another chapter. Now that it's summer I'm expecting to get some major writing done.  
-Venus is a character from acid 2 so she's not technically cannon. So I'll be trying to integrate her a little differently than her plotline.  
-Also planning on starting a bit more ambitious project. Which I will hopefully be able to post pretty soon.


End file.
